Top knocks from Ruturaj Gaikwad, Saurabh Kumar's fifer help India A defeat New Zealand A by 113 runs

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], September 18 (ANI): Top knocks from batter Ruturaj Gaikwad and brilliant bowling spells from all-rounder Saurabh Kumar helped India A defeat New Zealand A in the third and final Test by 113 runs at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.
With this, Team India has captured the series 1-0.
Chasing 416, New Zealand lost top-order batters, Rachin Ravindra (12) and Joe Walker (7) to Saurabh Kumar and Shardul Thakur respectively. The visitors were left struggling at 30/2.
Joe Carter and Dane Cleaver put Kiwis on right track once again, rebuilding the innings with one run at a time. They built a stand of 75-runs, broken by Saurabh by sending back Cleaver for 44.
Mark Chapman was the next man up on the crease. Carter continued his great form throughout the series, scoring another century. He kept the scoreboard moving with Chapman. The 82-run stand between the duo was finished by Sarfaraz Khan's leg-break bowling, sending back Chapman for 45 after being caught by Mukesh Kumar. New Zealand at this point was 197/4.
Following this, the grip of visitors on the match started to get low. Carter stayed but could not build the partnerships like his previous two with Cleaver and Chapman. Saurabh continued his good show, taking scalps of Tom Bruce (19), Sean Solia (8) and Jacob Duffy (4) and getting a five-wicket haul.
Saurabh's good run against the middle-order/lower-order batter meant that the visitors were bundled out for 302, losing the match by 113 runs. He finished with figures of 5/103. Sarfaraz took 2/48. Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar and Shardul got one wicket each.
Previously, India declared their second innings at 359/7, gaining a 415-run lead over the visitors, who were bundled out for 237 in their first innings. India had scored 293/10 in their first innings and thus attained a 56-run lead after bundling out the visitors for 237 runs.
India's second innings saw an unbeaten ton from Rajat Patidar (109*), half-centuries from Ruturaj Gaikwad (94), Sarfaraz Khan (63) and captain Priyank Panchal (62) that helped them reach 359/7 before declaring. Rachin Ravindra (3/65) and Joe Walker (2/64) were the best bowlers for New Zealand A in the second innings. India at this point had a 415 lead over NZ-A.
The first innings of New Zealand A saw them get bundled out for 237/10. Only Chapman (92), Solia (54) and Cleaver could do something noteworthy for their side. Top spells from Saurabh Kumar (4/48), Rahul Chahar (3/53) gave India a 56-run first innings lead over their opponents.
India was bundled out for 293 in their first innings after opting to bat first. Gaikwad's 108 and wicketkeeper-batter Upendra Yadav (76) powered the hosts to a solid first innings score with their batting. Matthew Fisher (4/52) and Jacob Duffy (2/56) were the top two bowlers for NZ-A. (ANI)