India A limp to 169/9 against Aussies
Brisbane, September 15
Hardik Pandya stood tall in the ruins with an unbeaten 79 as India A collapsed to 169/9 on a rain-hit opening day of the second four-day match against Australia A here.
Put in to bat by the hosts, the Indians were undone by a top-order collapse and it took a fightback from the lower half to salvage the day to some extent. Pandya was the standout performer with his 112-ball knock that included nine fours and a six.
Jayant Yadav was the other notable contributor to the Indian total with a 69-ball 28, which was laced with four hits to the fence. For Australia A, Kane Richardson and Jackson Bird grabbed three wickets apiece.
Australia A captain Joe Burns won the toss and elected to bowl first under overcast conditions. Richardson (3/37) was the pick of the bowlers early on, striking first to get rid of Faiz Fazal (0), who edged to Nic Maddinson at second slip. Karun Nair (1) followed, run-out by a direct hit from Hilton Cartwright, to leave the tourists at 11/2. The Indians lost two more wickets without the addition of a single run and got into serious trouble at 11/4.
India A captain Naman Ojha (19) and Sanju Samson (13) set about rescuing their side from a tricky situation. But the latter’s innings was ended by Cartwright before lunch when he got a ball to sneak through the batsman’s defence to hit the leg-stump. Ojha fell immediately after the start of the second session, trapped lbw by Bird.
The seventh wicket stand of 78 between Yadav and Pandya steadied India’s rocking boat before Yadav was snared by Richardson. — PTI
Brief scores: India A: 169/9 in 66 overs (Pandya 79 not out; Kane Richardson 3/37)
