Karn spins India A to victory over New Zealand

Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Leg-spinner Karn Sharma caught New Zealand A in a web as the visitors’ inability to cope with spin was exposed once again by a buoyant India A, who went on to win the third unofficial ODI by 6 wickets at Visakhapatnam.

India A have now taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. The first match was a wash out and the second one ended in a tie.

It was hard to believe that it was the same New Zealand batting line-up that had turned just a night ago. On Wednesday, the Indian spinners led by leggie Karna Sharma ran through the New Zealand middle order. The visitors lost their last seven wickets for just 46 runs with three batsmen returning to the pavilion without troubling the scorers.

Karn Sharma returned with figures of 5 for 22 in 8 overs to bowl New Zealand out for 144. Off-spinner Deepak Hooda also rolled his arms over to good effect by picking up the first and the last Kiwi wicket.

Chasing a small target, India A lost their top three cheaply, with only 23 on board. But captain Shreyas Iyer (37) again came to the fore and got together with Vijay Shankar (47*) to steady the Indian innings before Deepak Hooda came in to make a brisk 35 off 28 balls to finish the game.