The pitch, which has been a source of growing concern for many, played dead slow and every now and then a ball refused to rise off the turf. After Purnima Rau was dismissed, things went from bad to worse. While Reshma Gandhi looked in good nick and did not give any chances, she found virtually no support at the other end. Smitha Harikrishna, Jaya Sharma, Vaishali Landge, Jaya Sharma and Deepa Kulkarni all failed to reach double figures. With almost three overs to spare, India A were all out for just 103.
History is littered with cases of small scores posing big problems to chasing sides.
Well, today was one of those days. Gulshan and Anju Jain looked positive from the word go. Gulshan was bowled before she reached double figures and two more run outs accounted for Amrita Shinde and Hemlatha Kala. The former batted well to get to 16 but did not manage to go on. Stumper Arundhati Kirkire made 13 before she slashed at a ball from Purnima Rau to the waiting hands of Rupanjali Shastri at point.