South Africa A dominated the proceedings with the bat, with captain Peter Malan (157*) and Tony de Zorzi (117) scoring hundreds against India A on Day 1 of the first four-day game in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
India A toiled hard with the ball as the hosts ended Day 1 of the first four-day game at 343/3.
After captain Priyank Panchal won the toss and put South Africa A into the bat, Navdeep Saini and Arzan Nagwaswalla landed early blows. While Saini, celebrating his birthday, dismissed Sarel Erwee for a duck in the first over, Nagwaswalla got Raynard van Tonder out three overs later to reduce South Africa A to 2/14. Malan and de Zorzi then joined forces and denied India A any immediate success despite the toil. The pair put on a solid show with the bat and added 217 runs together.
India A was then provided with a much-needed breakthrough as speedster Umran Malik disturbed the timber to dismiss de Zorzi for 117.
Jason Smith replaced de Zorzi in the middle. Meanwhile, South Africa A captain Malan continued his good work with the bat and moved past the 150-run mark and went on to add another solid partnership – 112* runs – with Smith, who scored an unbeaten 51 at stumps.
Brief Scores: South Africa A 343/3 (Peter Malan 157*, Tony de Zorzi 117; Umran Malik 1/43) vs India A.