Indian captain Priyank Panchal won the toss and invited South Africa to bat first and soon reduced their score to 14 for two. After this, however, Malan (157 not out) and de Georgi (117) put on a 217-run partnership for the third wicket as South Africa A managed to post 343 for three by the end of the first day’s play.
By the end of the day’s play, Jason Smith was playing with Malan for 51 runs. Both of them have added 112 runs for the fourth wicket so far.
Fast bowler Navdeep Saini (1 for 57) caught opener Sarel Irvi (zero) at the hands of Krishnappa Gautam on the third ball of the match itself. Left-arm pacer Arjan Nagvaswala (1 for 58) dismissed new batsman Renard van Tonder (nil) leg before and sent him to the pavilion as soon as he arrived.
The second openers Malan and De Georgi then took charge and did not give any chance to the Indian bowlers. Indian bowlers did not get any success till 57 overs. Fast bowler Umran Malik (1 for 43) broke the partnership by bowling de Georgie but Smith then supported his captain well.
Malan has faced 258 balls so far and has hit 18 fours while de Georgi played 186 balls and hit 18 fours. Smith’s 88-ball knock included four fours and a six.
Indian spinners Krishnappa Gautam, Rahul Chahar and Baba failed to make an impact on the undefeated South African batsmen.
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