Iyer 90, Phillips 140* headline thrilling tie

India A 269 for 9 (Iyer 90, Bawne 83*, Astle 4-22, Kuggeleijn 3-56) tied with New Zealand A 269 for 6 (Phillips 140*, Bruce 46, Kaul 3-65)

A sensational hundred from Glenn Phillips took New Zealand A to 269 for 6, but his efforts were so well matched by half-centuries from India A’s Shreyas Iyer and Ankit Bawne that the second unofficial ODI between the two teams in Visakhapatnam ended in a tie.

Such a dramatic end had seemed rather unlikely considering that at one point, India A were 84 for 5. Scott Kuggeleijn (3 for 56) and Todd Astle (4 for 22) had run through the top order to have New Zealand A dreaming about their first victory on the tour. But Iyer, the captain, and Bawne, coming in at No. 7, strung together a partnership of 126 runs in only 104 balls to enliven the game.

With 60 needed off the last 10 overs, however, Astle and Kuggeleijn combined to dismiss Iyer for 90 off 73 balls and then claimed three further wickets to set up a tantalising situation – 11 runs to get, six balls to go, one wicket in hand. Bawne, though, was still batting, and together with Siddharth Kaul, was able to bring India A level with New Zealand A in a rain-hit game.

The weather in Visakhapatnam had forced this game, which was originally scheduled to be played on October 8, down to a 42-overs-a-side contest. And Phillips, coming in at No. 3, began dominating it with an array of shots. He racked up 15 fours and four sixes at a strike-rate of 107, a timely innings considering the New Zealand management had said six players from the A team would be brought on board for the limited-overs series against India starting on October 22.

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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