stumps India A 107 and 208 for 2 (Sai Sudharsan 96*, Padikkal 80*, O’Neill 1-33) lead Australia A 195 (McSweeney 39, Connolly 37, Mukesh 6-46, Prasidh 3-59) by 120 runs
Trailing by 88 runs in the first innings, India looked down at 30 for 2 after the wickets of captain Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhimanyu. But Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal steadied the ship with an unbroken partnership of 178 runs as batting became easier on a surface that flattened out as the day progressed.
They learned lessons from India A’s disastrous first innings of 107, when several batsmen failed. Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal showed patience and judged well throughout as they approached the centuries. They waited to start bowling, which was more wayward than on opening day.
Both batsmen used their feet well against spinner Todd Murphy, who did not threaten and had figures of 54 in 17 overs. His struggles increased just before the stumps when a delivery slipped through his fingers and landed near the square-leg umpire.
Abhimanyu is seen as a contender to play in the first part of the Test series given the uncertainty over Rohit Sharma. But it was all at sea against the new ball with O’Neill producing rampant movement.
Abhimanyu was lucky to have survived at 2 after he edged the quick Jordan Buckingham at third slip only for the delivery to be ruled off the ball. The pressure was mounting on Abhimanyu who tried to play more positively and also went for tight singles on a couple of occasions. But he took advantage of his luck after running out for a quick run only for the athletic Buckingham at midwicket to bowl the stumps leaving the batsman diving just short of his wicket.
Padikkal received medical treatment on his legs late in the day but struggled as India A looked to set a tough target and the focus would soon shift once again to the Australia A batsmen hoping to partner Usman Khawaja in the first Test.
Australia A resumed their first innings at 99 for 4, losing just eight runs, and captain McSweeney had a golden opportunity to boost his bid for first Test selection. McSweeney had survived to the bone on a crazy day, one after the early dismissals of Bancroft test candidates Sam Konstas and Marcus Harris.
Connolly, 21, decided to fight back and quickly moved past McSweeney after scoring 22 runs in a whirlwind eight balls. His ability to change gears is one of the reasons why Connolly has risen rapidly through the rankings and is seen as a contender for the Test tour of Sri Lanka early next year.
Unlike many batsmen so far in this match, Connolly drove with ease and underlined why in Western Australian cricket circles he has been compared favorably to former Test batsman Shaun Marsh. He looked set for his fourth half-century in six innings in his first-class career before a tame dismissal in the 37th over when he misjudged a Mukesh delivery to square leg.
This led to quick wickets from Josh Philippe and McSweeney, whose dedication to defending was finally broken when he was caught in the gully after being lured into a full delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Reddy was able to find a late flick that fooled McSweeney to highlight an impressive performance of 1 for 14 in seven overs.
Australia A led by just 29 runs at the fall of McSweeney’s wicket before Murphy scored 33 to frustrate India A. It fell to Mukesh to finally finish the innings as he cleanly bowled Brendan Doggett for his fifth wicket and then collected Murphy. – who was the fourth batsman in the innings to fall in the 30s.
Tristan Lavalette is a journalist based in Perth.
