On a pitch where the Dhruv Jurel-led India A team opted to go with four pace bowling options, Manav Suthar, the lone frontline spinner, emerged the most successful, taking 5 for 93. Australia A ended the opening day of the second unofficial Test in Lucknow at 350 for 9.
India A made five changes, bringing in Manav, Mohammed Siraj, KL Rahul, Ayush Badoni, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, while Australia A made three. Jack Edwards, Will Sutherland, and Henry Thornton came in for the final four-day match of the tour.
Apart from Jurel and Prasidh Krishna, the other players to retain their places from the previous game were Devdutt Padikkal, N Jagadeesan, Sai Sudharsan, and Gurnoor Brar.
Except Gurnoor, all the aforementioned names are in contention for selection for the West Indies series starting on October 2.
The omission of Abhimanyu Easwaran could signal that the selectors may not consider him for the home series.
Siraj and Prasidh gave a good account of themselves on what appeared to be a good batting surface in the first session.
If Akash Deep is ruled out of the West Indies Test series, it is likely that these two pacers could be seen bowling in tandem in the first Test in Ahmedabad.
Prasidh provided the first breakthrough in the fourth over. The tall pacer, known for his ability to hit the deck, pitched the ball up, inviting the drive. Campbell Kellaway went for it and was caught at gully by Sudharsan.
Although Siraj did not get wickets with the new ball, he maintained tight lines. Such was the quality of the opening spell that the naturally attacking Sam Konstas, a century-maker in the previous game, was forced to curb his instincts.
In his second spell, after lunch, Siraj induced an edge off Konstas’ bat, breaking a dangerous-looking 86-run partnership for the second wicket.
The third pacer, Gurnoor, claimed the key wicket of Nathan McSweeney, who top-scored with 74. The Australia A skipper was dropped on 40 by N Jagadeesan behind the stumps off Prasidh’s bowling. Nitish bowled a few overs but did not trouble the batters much.
The remainder of the day was dominated by Manav with his left-arm spin.
Jack Edwards came out all guns blazing, playing some brilliant strokes on his way to 88 before Gurnoor dismissed him.
Jurel rotated his bowlers smartly. Interestingly, he kept wickets in the first session. However, after lunch, Jagadeesan took over the wicketkeeping duties. With Rishabh Pant ruled out of the upcoming home series against the West Indies, both players remain in contention.
While Jurel appears to be the automatic first-choice wicketkeeper, Jagadeesan’s current form and the fact that he kept for the majority of the day suggest he could be picked as the back-up keeping option.
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