| Player: | AM Nayar, MK Tiwary, MJ Guptill |
| Event: | Cricket Australia Emerging Players Tournament 2009 |
Manoj Tiwary's 51 not out went in vain as National Cricket Academy paid the price for a top-order collapse.
National Cricket Academy thereby lost their second Twenty20 match of the Emerging Players Tournament against New Zealand by five wickets on Monday.
Put in to bat first, National Cricket Academy accumulated 154 for 5 in their allotted 20 overs with Tiwary top-scoring.
The Bengal batsman and Abhishek Nayar (45), batting at number five and six respectively, were the key in taking National Cricket Academy's score past 150 after the top-order flopped against fast bowler Hamish Bennett (3/20).
Later, Naman Ojha also chipped in with a 15-ball unbeaten 26.
Openers Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay scored 10 and nine, respectively, while captain S Badrinath, batting one-down, contributed just six runs.
National Cricket Academy received another setback when Virat Kohli, who followed in next, was out for a three-ball duck.
Then, New Zealand's emerging players piled up 156 for five with Colin de Grandhomme top-scoring with 60.
off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took three for 22 from his four overs while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Amit Mishra took one wicket each.
The Academy seamers failed to get early breakthroughs with Martin Guptill and De Grandhomme scoring freely.
Grandhomme hit six fours and a six in his 45-ball knock. Ashwin then struck two blows to keep National Cricket Academy in the hunt but crucial knocks from wicketkeeper Reece Young and then Kane Williamson lower down the order were enough to secure a win for New Zealand.