Gaikwad dismissed on the first ball, Ishan falls short; Test hopefuls Easwaran and Nitish struggle as India A faces a batting collapse against Australia A.
India A experienced a complete batting collapse in their first innings on Day 1 of the opening unofficial Test match against Australia A at Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena on Thursday. Brendan Doggett claimed six wickets, leading Australia A to bowl out India A for a mere 107 runs.
Sai Sudharsan (21), Devdutt Padikkal (36), and Navdeep Saini (23) were the only batters to reach double figures, while the rest of the lineup fell quickly. Abhimanyu Easwaran (7), Ruturaj Gaikwad (0), Indrajith (9), Ishan Kishan (4), Nitish Reddy (0), Manav Suthar (1), Prasidh Krishna (0), and Mukesh Kumar (4) were all dismissed with single-digit scores.
The first innings was a significant blow to the Indian camp, as uncapped players Easwaran and Nitish, selected for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, failed to make an impact.
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India A’s Disappointment
Australia won the toss and chose to bowl first. The match kicked off with right-arm pacer Jordan Buckingham easily dismissing openers Easwaran and Gaikwad. Following that, Doggett wreaked havoc on the Indian batting lineup.
Though it seemed Sudharsan was attempting to mount a comeback, Doggett dismissed him as well, along with Kishan, who was also returning to the team. The match serves as a trial for all-rounder Nitish, but he fell for a six-ball duck at the hands of Doggett.
The performances of Easwaran and Reddy may raise doubts about their preparedness for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Their batting efforts were underwhelming, and the duo will be eager to bounce back and spearhead a comeback against Australia. Meanwhile, the Australians will aim to capitalize on their momentum and reinforce their dominance.
India’s Playing XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar.
Australia’s Playing XI
Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, Nathan McSweeney (c), Beau Webster, Cooper Connolly, Josh Philippe (wk), Fergus O’Neill, Todd Murphy, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham.
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