Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar staked a strong claim as Ravindra Jadeja's replacement for the upcoming Test series in Bangladesh with a match-haul of nine wickets but Bangladesh A's tail wagged vigorously to prevent India A from winning the first unofficial Test match in Cox Bazar on Friday.
Having conceded a huge first innings lead of 353 runs, Bangladesh A were hanging by the thread at 343/9 after battling for 151 overs in the second innings but managed to hold on for a draw.
Having picked up four wickets in the first innings, Saurabh was brilliant in the second innings as he had figures of 5/63 in 43 overs but off-spinner Jayant Yadav's lack of penetration (1/134 in 47 overs) from the other end proved to be the difference between a defeat and a draw.
Saurabh's finished with super match figures of 51-21-86-9, while Jayant paled in comparison with just one wicket in the two innings.
The Haryana off-spinner's inability to provide breakthroughs prompted Abhimanyu Easwaran to introduce Sarfaraz Khan for a spell and he also got a wicket.
Zakir Hasan saved Bangladesh with a gutsy knock of 173 from 402 balls, batting for nearly 10 and half hours before he was the eighth batter to be dismissed by Saurabh.
The eighth wicket stand of 13 runs between Zakir and Nayeem Hasan (5 off 45 balls) proved to be vital as the duo thwarted India for 15.4 over.
Bangladesh's last wicket pairing Rejaur Rahaman Raja (5 not out, 16 balls) and Khaled Ahmed (0 not out, 2 balls) also hung on bravely as they defended the last 14 deliveries of the game to eke out a draw.
