Ind A vs Aus A: Talent-spotting done, rain steps in to wash away Day 2
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel in India aims to pick a few new prospects for the upcoming two-Test home series against the West Indies
Unofficial Test matches between the A teams of two countries allow the respective cricket boards to spot the talent for their senior sides for the future. The ongoing four-day unofficial Test match between hosts India A and Australia A also serves the same purpose.
While the Australia Cricket Board is looking for an opener, especially Sam Konstas to join regular opener Usman Khawaja in the five-match Ashes series in November against England in Australia, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel in India aims to pick a few new prospects for the upcoming two-Test home series against the West Indies, starting October 2 at Ahmedabad.
So far, the India A vs Australia A match proved this theory of spotting fresh blood. Konstas staked his claim for the senior Australia side with a perfect century knock on Day One on Tuesday. Then came the turn of keeper-batter Josh Philippe to strike an unbeaten century, his fifth hundred in first-class cricket as Australia A declared their first innings at 532/6 in just 98 overs, having scored at a run rate of 5.43.
For Australia, it was clearly Philippe and Liam Scott’s day. The latter also impressed with 122-ball 81, which contained eight boundaries and two sixes before being caught by India A skipper Shreyas Iyer off Gurnoor Brar.
While resuming at the overnight score of 337/5, Australia A batters didn’t show any mercy to India A bowlers even though the game started half an hour early to make up for overs lost to rain on the opening day on Tuesday.
Philippe got a life early in his innings when he was dropped at 26 by wicketkeeper Jagadeesan, who was standing in place of regular keeper Dhruv Jurel on a trial basis, off Khaleel Ahmed. Philippe cashed in, notching up his half-century off 55 balls. He then added 81 runs for the sixth wicket with Scott to consolidate visitors’ total further.
From there, Philippe continued to dominate as he went on adding an unbeaten 118 off just 62 balls with Xavier Bartlett for the seventh wicket. Bartlett contributed 39 off 28 balls with the help of five fours and two sixes. Philippe smashed left-arm finger spinner Harsh Dubey for a six and three fours in the 93rd over and then went after offspinner Tanush Kotian in the 94th, hitting him for two fours and a six. He took 77 balls to reach his century, getting there with a quick single to cover.
Philippe hit 18 fours and four sixes in his century as Australia A scored 195 runs in just 25 overs on the second day before declaring their innings on Wednesday. Dubey finished with 3/141, Brar took 2/87 and Khaleem Ahmed bagged 1/80.
All eyes then turned to India openers Abhimanyu Eswaran and Jagdeeshan Narayan, who started well with an 88-run opening wicket stand as India A finished the Day Two at 116/1 in 30 overs. The two didn’t let Australia A bowlers Fergus O’Neill and Xavier Bartlett dominate and kept hitting them all around the ground of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Showing a lot of grit and determination in his shot selection, Easwaran, one of the consistent big run getters in the domestic circuit, was ruthless as he was expected to be, hitting 44 in 58 balls before being bowled by Liam Scott on a low bouncy delivery on the red soil surface. During his 98-minute stay in the middle, Easwaran, part of the team India during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy for the five-match test series at England last month, struck six boundaries.
The Bengal captain remained the only batter to go on Day Two as both Jagadeesan and another member of the Team India in England series, B Sai Sudharsan remained unbeaten. Then a continuous drizzle forced the two umpires to call off the remaining game of the day at 4.00 pm.
Jagadeesan reached his fifty in 95 balls with the help of five boundaries and a six, Sai Sudharsan struck three boundaries in his 27-ball 20 as only 55 overs were bowled on the second day, with no play possible after tea.
