India A beat South Africans by eight wickets in T20 practice match

Du Plessis retired hurt as a precaution, which CSA called a “means to manage his knee post-injury”, to ensure he does not do “too much too soon”. The proper India “A” team is now playing a three-day match against Bangladesh “A” in Bengaluru.

South Africa were stunned in their first match after coming to India to play a series here as India A beat the side by eight wickets in a practice T20 encounter here on Tuesday.

South Africans won the toss and chose to bat.

Skipper Faf Du Plessis raced his way to a 27-ball-42 while AB De Villiers, opening the innings, chipped in with 36 from his 27 balls.

Test squad: Hashim Amla (capt), AB de Villiers, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.

Hashim will not be available for the practice game tomorrow. Amla did not travel with the main group on Saturday and will join the squad on Wednesday, and will be available for Friday’s match while Morkel, who was late inclusion after replacing David Wiese, who picked up a hand injury, is still waiting for documentation to clear before he can travel.

Provided his fitness holds – du Plessis has only just recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of action for more than a month – he will be a key figure in South Africa’s fortunes, from the very first moment when he goes toe-to-toe with Dhoni. He said that having played in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the pace bowlers would be able to make use of their experience and knowledge of the conditions to get going and accomplish all their goals. India “A” captain Mandeep Singh, who hit the winning boundary, remained unbeaten on 12.

The side that will take on the South Africans comprises of young IPL performers over the past couple of years. “We would be looking to use those conditions with our quick bowlers”, he said.

Especially, the three spinners Yuzvendra Chahal, Pawan Negi and Kuldeep Yadav would fancy their chances ahead of the World T20, as none of the spinners save Ravichandran Ashwin is assured of his place in the T20 format.

By the time Agarwal had holed out to deep midwicket while trying to go after pacer Marchant de Lange, India A were in a commanding position, needing 19 runs off 16 balls.

Ajinkya Rahane is a soft-spoken, reticent gentleman, but when asked about the upcoming series vs the Proteas, his answer was, “We will look to dominate them and play positive cricket and we are here to win the series”.

Mayank however continued in company of Sanju Samson (31 batting), adding 52 for the second wicket.