The Australians, who had prepared for more than three weeks in the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai, showcased what they are truly capable of. Australian skipper Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh had scored tons on day 1 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai and the Aussies continued from where they had left off.
The younger sibling of Shaun Marsh, Mitchell, notched up a fifty along with wicketkeeper Matthew Wade as the duo were involved in a century partnership. After Peter Handscomb was dismissed for 45 yesterday, Marsh and Wade saw off the indisciplined India A bowling attack in the final few overs of the day.
The duo started the day on a positive note and attacked the Indians, who had a daunting task to contain the Aussies and pick up wickets in the first session. India A’s bowlers failed to do that and the Australian pair put on 129 runs together for the fifth wicket.
After Wade’s dismissal, Marsh did not survive for too long with Glenn Maxwell and after his dismissal, they decided to declare their first innings at 469 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 127 overs.
India A lost a wicket early but Priyank Panchal, who was the highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy this season, scored 36 runs which included five elegant fours. Panchal along with Shreyas Iyer looked dangerous but the former was dismissed just before tea. Ankit Bawne then joined the aggressor Iyer in the final session of the day and added 47 runs before being trapped in front of his stumps by Jackson Bird.
At the loss of the third wicket, to everyone’s surprise, captain Hardik Pandya stepped out ahead of the in-form wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. Pandya, who was gifted a chance early on off Bird’s bowling, failed to capitalise and was eventually dismissed for 19.
On the other hand, Iyer gave a glimpse of what the Australians can expect from the main string Indian team in the upcoming Test series. He smashed seven fours and five sixes in his unbeaten knock of 85. Iyer dispatched the red cherry to all parts of the ground and repeatedly took the attack to the Australian bowling.
India ended the day on 176 for the loss of four wickets. Bird and Nathon Lyon shared the four wickets by picking up two each. Tomorrow will be the third and final day of the warm-up match and Australia will be hoping to bundle out the India A side in order to bat again and gain valuable experience.
Brief Scores: Australia 469/7d in 127 overs (Steven Smith 107, Shaun Marsh 104, Navdeep Saini 42/2) against India A 176/4 in 51 overs (Shreyas Iyer 85*, Priyank Panchal 36, Jackson Bird 11/2) at stumps Day 2.
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