India A eye glory against SA

Bengaluru: India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A here from Thursday.

Pant managed to log trouble-free 139.3 overs as wicketkeeper besides playing 133 balls as a batter, which included a typically colourful 90 in last week’s first four-day game at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) grounds.

With the fitness worries firmly behind him, the left-hander will now be eager to put himself through the rigours before the two-match Test series against South Africa

Siraj, KL Rahul and Kuldeep were a part of India’s ongoing white-ball tour to Australia before returning home, and they can now polish their red-ball skills against a competitive opposition in South Africa A. The visitors will be eager to level the series after the hosts recorded a three-wicket win

in the first match.