Ishan Kishan stars as India A defeat South Africa A by two wickets

Ishan Kishan played a 55-run knock off just 24 balls to hand India A a win by two wickets against South Africa A in the second ODI of the five-match series on Saturday.

Due to rain, the match was curtailed to 21-overs per side.

Chasing 163 for the win, India A got off to a bad start as the side lost its opener Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) in the second over of the innings.

Anmolpreet Singh and Shubman Gill retrieved the innings as the duo put up a 49-run stand, but their resistance was cut short by George Linde as he sent Singh (30) back to the pavilion.

Gill was dismissed soon after, leaving India A in a spot of bother at 57/3. Manish Pandey and Ishan Kishan played in an aggressive manner, enabling the team to keep up with the asking run rate.

Pandey was dismissed, but Kishan brought up his fifty to put India in a comfortable position. South Africa A took wickets in a cluster towards the end, but Krunal Pandya ensured the side's victory by two wickets.

Pandya remained unbeaten on 23.

Earlier, Linde's knock of 52 runs enabled South Africa A to post 162 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets after being put in to bat.

The team got off to a poor start as the side lost its openers with just 15 runs on the board.

Skipper Temba Bavuma and Khaya Zondo stitched together a 38-run stand to help South Africa A steady their innings. Zondo (24) and Bavuma (40) were dismissed in quick succession, reducing the team to 75/4 in the 13th over.

It was then Linde came to the crease and he played an unbeaten knock of 52 runs off just 25 balls, taking the team's score past the 160-run mark.

India A and South Africa A will next take on each other in the third ODI on September 2.

Brief Scores: India A 163/8 (Ishan Kishan 55, Anmolpreet Singh 30, Junior Dala 2-25) defeat South Africa A 162/5 (George Linde 52*, Temba Bavuma 40, Axar Patel 1-19) by two wickets.