IND-A vs AUS-A 2nd One-Day — India A hopes to bounce back after batting slump in series opener

Rajat Patidar scored 53 and was the silver lining in India’s batting display. | Photo Credit: Cricket Association of Puducherry

After being torn apart by the pace of the Australia A attack in the first encounter, India A will look to bounce back and force a decider when the sides meet for the second one-day at the Cricket Association Puducherry Siechem Stadium in Puducherry on Friday.

Chasing a manageable target of 275 under the lights, the Indian top-order was undone by the pace and hard lengths executed by Mahli Beardman. He picked his career-best List A figures to leave a serious dent in the batting, from which India A could not recover.

There was a small shoot of recovery during the partnership between Rajat Patidar and Nishant Sindhu but despite batting deep, the team could only muster 149 before being bowled out. Australia A too will have some introspection to do about the first innings. Nathan McSweeney and Will Sutherland managed to rescue them to a respectable score but attacking, cross-batted shots on a pitch where the ball reared from back-of-a-length posed a continuous issue.

There was also some reverse swing on offer with the old ball towards the end of the second PowerPlay in both innings. Beardman told after the game that the ball was moving more prodigiously under lights so it remains to be seen if the same movement will be available in a day game.

Spinners Sindhu, Anukul Roy and Vipraj Nigam participated in the nets session on the eve of the game. Captain Ruturaj Gaikwad will hope he can rely on the the trio to help prise out wickets through the middle overs, the phase where India A let the game slip away from its grasp. Australia A’s three spinners only bowled ten overs between them but managed to pick three wickets, two of which were the opponent’s top scorers on the day.

The team management, led by Hrishikesh Kanitkar, might also be tempted to play Gurjapneet Singh, who can derive extra bounce from his short-of-a-length deliveries. This bounce was the key factor that helped Yash Thakur run through the top order and bag a three-wicket haul.