India A vs Australia A Highlights: Kohli, Pujara Fail as Hosts Collapse for 135
India A and Australia A clashed in their second four-day 'Test' in Chennai. Cheteshwar Pujara's squad were bolstered by the last-minute inclusion of India's Test skipper Virat Kohli. The first match ended in a draw. Catch the highlights here.
It was a day that belonged to Australia A as India A were 135 all out. Follow highlights here:
(All times in IST)
17:36 That's it for the day. Australia A 43/0 and trail India A by 135 runs.
17:19 The visitors slowly cutting down the deficit. Day 1 clearly belongs to the Aussies. Australia 33/0.
17:05 Indian bowlers searching desperately for a breakthrough. Australia A 18/0.
16:46 Aussie openers Bancroft and Khawaja slowly playing out the overs as the visitors target stumps. Australia A 7/0.
16:21 WICKET! Ojha falls to Sandhu for a duck and India A are 135 all out.
16:07: WICKET! India A 125/8 as Varun Aaron falls to Gurinder Sandhu - he had also removed Baba Aparajith in the previous delivery.
15:52: WICKET! Karun Nair falls after scoring 50 off 153 balls. Right-arm paceman Andrew Fekete gets his man caught by Joe Burns. India A 119 for six in 64 overs.
15:25: FIFTY! Karun Nair notches up his half-century. He took 144 balls to reach the landmark. He has scored five fours so far.
15:20: WICKET! Naman Ojha's sluggish knock comes to an end. Ashton Agar gets another one as he gets Ojha stumped for 10. Ojha's marathon knock included 84 balls.
14:50: TEA! Indians have done well to reach 101 for four in 56 overs with Karun Nair doing the bulk of scoring. Nair is batting on 43. His partner at the other end, Naman Ojha is playing one of the slowest innings. He has taken 78 balls to score six runs at strike rate of 7.69.
14:00: Earlier in the day, India A and Australia A cricketers wore black armbands and observed two minutes silence in memory of late President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at the start of the game. (Read full report)
13:46: Karun Nair has moved on to 34 not out as India A recover from 52 for four to 86 for four in 47 overs. Naman Ojha is batting at the other end.
© AFP
12:17: LUNCH! That's the end of first session. India A reach 56 for four in 29 overs. Karun Nair (9*) and Naman Ojha (0*) are at the crease. The top-order struggled against spin. Aussie Steve O'Keefe picked up two wickets in the session to give visitors an upper hand.
11:52: WICKET! Another one bites the dust. Shreyas Iyer bowled for just one by Steve O'Keefe. Second wicket for the Aussie left-arm spinner.
11:48: WICKET! That's a massive wicket for Ashton Agar. The Aussie traps Virat Kohli for 16. India A 52 for three in 24.2 overs.
11:25: WICKET! Abhinav Mukund follows suit. Mukund edges one to keeper Matthew Wade off left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe. India A 44 for two in 17.4 overs.
10:57: WICKET! Cheteshwar Pujara is clean bowled by Marcus Stoinis for 11. Virat Kohli joins Abhinav Mukund at the crease. India A 18 for one after 11 overs.
10:30: It's not Virat Kohli but Abhinav Mukund who has opened the batting with skipper Cheteshwar Pujara. The two openers have provided a solid start.
© Twitter
09:49: TEAMS!
India A: Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Naman Ojha, Shreyas Iyer, Baba Aparajith, Pragyan Ojha, Varun Aaron, Shreyas Gopal, Shardul Thakur
Australia A: Usman Khawaja, Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb, Callum Ferguson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Steve O'Keefe, Ashton Agar, Gurinder Sandhu, Andrew Fekete
09:45: TOSS! India A have won the toss and they will bat first. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli will open the innings for Indians.
Australia A huddle up as they get ready to face @imVkohli and India A in Chennai. #AusATour pic.twitter.com/QNb2iCgSy2
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) July 29, 2015
The pitch for Australia A's second four-day match v India A in Chennai. Win toss and....? #AusATour pic.twitter.com/cja3HRmppF
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) July 29, 2015
Preview:
© PTI
If it all goes according to the script, Cheteshwar Pujara, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav and Amit Mishra could be playing the first Test against Sri Lanka in the seaside venue at Galle from August 12. Virat Kohli, who will lead India in his first full Test series as skipper, has added muscle to India A's batting. He will look to get some run under his belt after some indifferent form on the tour of Bangladesh.
Pujara will try his luck as an opener. This position is not new to him. Having scored 55 in the first India A versus Australia A game last week, Pujara will like to spend some time in the middle and gain in confidence. A century will be a bonus.
Lokesh Rahul, who missed a century in the last game by four runs, will be rested. That slot will go to Kohli, who should be batting at No. 3. India's new Test captain will get a ringside view of the depth in talent pool when he gets to bat with the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Karun Nair and Vijay Shanker.
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On the bowling front, Amit Mishra will be eager to get wickets and ensure that he catches Kohli's imagination and win the third spinner's berth in Lanka. Pragyan Ojha, who finished with six wickets last week, will have to keep performing and hope for the best.
Varun Aaron, who missed the first 'Test' due to fever, will be in action. He will spearhead the attack with Umesh Yadav. Will pace do the trick on the usually sluggish Chepauk track? Whether India win the toss or lose it, the focus will clearly be on the big boys who will be on the flight to Colombo on August 3.