In-form Prithvi Shaw once again showed his calibre as India A notched up a convincing five-wicket victory over New Zealand A in the first unofficial ODI in Lincoln on Wednesday. A day after being chosen as the injured Shikhar Dhawan’s replacement in India’s ODI squad for the upcoming series against New Zealand’s senior team, the 20-year-old Shaw smashed 48 off 35 balls to make the winning foundation for the visiting team’s chase. Wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, who replaced Dhawan in India’s T20 squad, also played a quickfire cameo with a 21-ball 39, while Suryakumar Yadav smashed 35 off a mere 19 balls.

While chasing 231 after electing to field, India finished the chase with more than 20 overs to spare at the Bert Sutcliffe Oval. With the ball, Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowler for India A, picking up three wickets for 33 runs in 6.3 overs, while there were two wickets each for Khaleel Ahmed and Axar Patel. Their efforts helped India A bundle out New Zealand A for 230 with nine balls remaining in the 50-over match.

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Rachin Ravindra top-scored with 49 off 58 balls and captain Tom Bruce scored 47 off 55. India A got their chase off to a brisk start with Prithvi Shaw and his opening partner Mayank Agarwal (29) started doing well. The visitors had raced to 79 in 9.1 overs when Shaw fell to James Neesham.

Prithvi Shaw, who came into the match after a 100-ball 150 in a practice game, smashed five fours and three sixes. Captain Shubman Gill got out after getting his eye in, scoring 30 and after that, Samson did the rest with two maximums and three boundaries. Mumbai player Suryakumar later struck three fours and two sixes to take his team close to victory.

With these, India A took the lead in the three-match series. The second and third unofficial ODIs will take place in Christchurch on Friday and Sunday respectively.