Rain played spoilsport on the final day, forcing a draw even in the third unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein. No play was possible in the final session on Thursday as stumps were drawn soon after tea. India A, given a target of 304 after South Africa A declared their second innings at 311/3, were 90/3 then.

Captain Hanuma Vihari was batting on 13, having cracked three boundaries, with Ishan Kishan at the other end and yet to face any ball. Prithvi Shaw (38) got off to a brisk start once again opening the innings, scoring at a strike rate in excess of 100. But just as the script has been for Prithvi on this tour, he threw it away yet again.

Abhimanyu Easwaran (19), the other opener, was also looking good, having hit four boundaries at a healthy strike rate, but couldn’t go on to add more.

Overall, though, the tour did turn out to be a decent one for Abhimanyu as he aggregated 205 runs at an average of 41, finishing as the second-highest run-getter for India A after Vihari (227). Obviously, the Bengal top-order batsman would have liked more runs, but his efforts should be keeping him in a good headspace for the rest of the season.

Abhimanyu’s next assignment will be the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but only if Bengal qualify for the knockouts. Due to quarantine rules, he won’t be able to play in the group-phase matches.

As for Vihari, he made sure to grab almost every batting opportunity, hitting three fifties and averaging 75.66.

Brief scores: South Africa A 268 & 311/3 decl. (Z. Hamza 125 n.o.; K. Gowtham 2/81). India A 276 & 90/3. Match drawn.