India A Win as Gaikwad Smashes 117

Ruturaj Gaikwad’s brilliant century powered India A to a clinical four-wicket victory over South Africa A in the first unofficial ODI at Rajkot. Chasing 286, India A completed the job with three balls to spare. Gaikwad anchored the innings with a superb 117, striking 12 fours while building key partnerships — 64 with Abhishek Sharma and 89 with Tilak Varma. After his dismissal in the 41st over, India A still needed 67 runs, but Nitish Kumar Reddy (37) and Nishant Sindhu (29) stitched together a crucial 65-run stand to seal the chase comfortably.

Earlier, South Africa A recovered strongly from a disastrous 53/5, thanks to a counterattacking 90 from Delano Potgieter and 77 from Dian Forrester, taking their team to a competitive 285/9. Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and Nishant Sindhu triggered the early collapse, but the middle-order partnerships kept South Africa alive. Once Nitish Reddy dismissed Potgieter, India regained control, and Harshit Rana wrapped up the innings with two lower-order wickets. India A now lead the series 1-0.