Bowlers led India A’s fightback as the visitor eked out a two-run lead against Australia A on Day Two of the first unofficial four-day Test at the Allan Border Field here on Friday. Speedster Varun Aaron (3 for 41) came up with timely blows before off-spinner Jayant Yadav struck thrice to end Australia’s first innings at 228. India had squandered a solid start on >Day One to be 230 all out.
India A was 44 for 2 when bad light led to stumps on with openers Faiz Fazal (6) and Akhil Herwadkar (23) having been dismissed. Shreyas Iyer and first innings top-scorer Manish Pandey were batting on 6 and 7 respectively when stumps were called. The talented pair’s stay in the middle on Saturday will be crucial to India’s chances in the game being played with a pink ball.
Earlier, Australia collapsed to 228 all out after sitting pretty at 157 for 2 with opener Joe Burns (78) and captain Peter Handscomb (87) stitching an 118-run stand. The home team was cruising with the dangerous duo in the middle. Burns ended with 11 fours and a six while his skipper smashed 15 fours along with a maximum.
The match situation changed drastically with the fall of Burns and later Handscomb, who was run out courtesy Herwadkar. The Indian pacers made inroads into the opposition line-up before spinner Yadav cleaned up the tail. While Aaron and Yadav were the standout bowlers, handy contributions came from Hardik Pandya (2 for 33) and Shardul Thakur (1 for 45).
Brief scores:
India A 230 and 44/2 in 12 overs .
Australia A 228 (Burns 78, Handscomb 87; Aaron 3/41, Yadav 3/44).
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