BENGALURU: Skipper Rishabh Pant’s fluent 90, supported by valuable lower-order contributions, guided India A to a hard-fought three-wicket win over South Africa A in the opening four-day match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. The victory gave India A a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, with the second game scheduled at the BCCI Centre of Excellence grounds from Thursday.

Resuming on 119 for four while chasing 275, India A needed 166 runs to win at the start of play. Pant (90 off 113 balls, 11 fours, 4 sixes) and Ayush Badoni (34 off 47) provided early momentum, adding 63 runs in 12 overs through a mix of aggression and control. Pant set the tone in the day’s opening over, taking 14 runs off pacer Okuhle Cele, including a towering six and two deft boundaries.

The pair’s attacking st

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