Emerging Players Tournament, Brisbane, 5th round

Dhawan 184 sets up thrilling win

Cricinfo staff

July 22, 2008

India Emerging Players 5 for 315 (Dhawan 184, Kohli 51) beat South Africa Emerging Players 7 for 314(Khan 121, Davids 115) by one run
Scorecard

	Shikhar Dhawan's unbeaten 184 included 20 fours and five sixes © AFP

Shikhar Dhawan struck an unbeaten 184 off 147 balls, including 20 fours and five sixes, to lay the foundation for India Emerging Players' one-run victory against their South African counterparts at the Sandgate Oval in Brisbane. Centuries from Henry Davids and Imraan Khan gave South Africa confidence chasing 316 but with 11 runs required off the final over, and four off the last ball, Werner Coetsee could only manage two runs after a catch was dropped at deep square leg.

It was all about Dhawan after India chose to bat on a pitch which produced 723 runs in the match against the Australian Institute on Sunday. He scored at even keel with Virat Kohli (55) in a 106-run partnership for the first wicket after which he proceeded to tear into the South African attack with Suresh Raina (41) assisting him in a 90-run third-wicket stand. Ethy Mbhalati, with 3 for 72, was the top wicket-taker while Coetsee conceded only 42 runs in 10 overs.

South Africa were on course for victory after Davids and Khan shared a double-century partnership but fell away when both batsmen were dismissed with the score on 219. Davids was bowled by Manpreet Gony while Khan was run out by a direct hit from Ravindra Jadeja. The Indian bowlers ran through the middle order, with Pankaj Singh taking two wickets, as South Africa slumped to 277 for 7. The late innings fireworks from Coetsee, who blasted 33, gave them hope, but not the match.

New Zealand Emerging Players 5 for 282 (Broom 94, Watling 64*) beat Australian Institute of Sports 7 for 281 (Warner 89, Hastings 57*) by five wickets
Scorecard

New Zealand Emerging Players, led by Neil Broom's 94 and unbeaten half-centuries from Bradley-John Watling and Corey Anderson, made short work of the 282-run target set by the Australian Institute of Sports at the Allan Border Field.

New Zealand did not begin their chase well, losing their openers with 26 runs on the board, but they relied on an 88-run stand between Broom and Peter Ingram (27) to get back on track. But with Ingram and Greg Hay being separated within 12 runs of each other, Australia had an opening. Broom kept up the fight, adding 61 runs for the fifth wicket with Watling before he was caught behind by Matthew Wade off Shrikant Wagh. Watling and Anderson then took New Zealand home with 4.3 overs to spare.

Peter Forrest, the Australian captain, chose to bat but his decision did not prove fruitful when they slumped to 37 for 4, with James Franklin taking two wickets. Steve O' Keefe (47) and Wade (31) steadied Australia's innings with a 46-run stand. While Jesse Ryder stemmed the thrust of the innings by taking the next three wicket to fall, an unbeaten 137-run eighth-wicket stand between David Warner and Jon Hastings took Australia to 281.

© Cricinfo