It was a dramatic finish to a fast-moving Day 2 in Lucknow. After being bowled out for 194, India A took three wickets in the final half-hour to leave Australia at 16 for 3 by stumps. Despite the mini-collapse, the visitors still lead by 242 runs.
While the late strikes from Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, and Manav Suthar kept India A in the contest, they couldn’t overshadow a disappointing batting display earlier in the day.
Sai Sudharsan was the only one to play an innings of real substance. If not for his 75, they would have conceded a much bigger lead.
Wickets kept falling around him, but he remained unfazed during his 140-ball stay at the crease. Coming in at No. 3, Sudharsan adopted a calculated approach, focusing primarily on defence and strike rotation. Whenever the bowlers erred in line, he capitalised and found the boundary rope. His footwork against the spinners, in particular, was a standout.
During the England tour, India A tried Sudharsan and Karun Nair at No. 3, but neither could cement the spot. With this gritty knock in testing conditions, Sudharsan has once again presented a strong case for himself.
His Tamil Nadu teammate, N Jagadeesan, also looked solid for his 38. Opening the batting, the wicketkeeper-batter played some elegant drives through the covers before falling to a short ball. His dismissal triggered a collapse. The centurions from the last match, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel, fell in quick succession.
The ball was seaming around, and Henry Thornton, who claimed four wickets, made full use of the conditions. Todd Murphy found the gap between bat and pad to castle Nitish Kumar Reddy. Ayush Badoni then joined Sudharsan, and the pair added 50 runs before Badoni played an unnecessary shot to give his wicket away.
What already seemed like a poor day for India A with the bat turned worse when Prasidh Krishna was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the helmet. Yash Thakur later came in as a concussion substitute.
This is the latest blow to India’s fast bowling stocks. Akash Deep is already nursing an injury, and now there’s fresh doubt over Prasidh as well. And all this comes ahead of the home series.
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