Badrinath stands tall in middle-order mess

Badrinath didn8217;t just win the contest against the New Zealand bowlers, but also made a point to the national selectors as he stood out in company of other contenders for the Test spot.

With the score reading 60/4, that walk-in-the-park kind of target was made to look arduous by India A8217;s top-order with Robin Uthappa, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina in the hut.

By pulling his team out of the hole, Badrinath has staked his claim for a Test spot too. Ask Badri about his knock on Wednesday and he isn8217;t overexcited about it. 8220;Such tight situations are not new for me,8221; he explains. 8220;While playing for my state, I have been in these kind of situations many times. I am used to it. Actually, I love to be in the middle when the chips are down.8221;

Lending Badri a helping hand was Dinesh Karthik and the two stitched a useful partnership of 68. Kartik, though, failed to cash in on a good start and was out for 22.

And that meant it was left to Yusuf Pathan to provide the finishing touch to the win. In true slam-bang fashion, Yusuf stayed unbeaten on a quick-fire 34 that he managed in 20 balls. He started his innings with a six and it was his four that saw India A go past the New Zealand total.