India A vs Australia A: India A 63/2 chasing 262 for victory

Having conceded a lead of 31 on Monday, Australia A were bowled for 292 with Mohammed Siraj claiming 11 wickets in the game.

India A ended the third day in Bengaluru on 63/2, chasing a target of 262 to beat Australia A, with Mayank Agarwal on 25* and Ankit Bawne on 6*. Having conceded a slender lead of 31 on Monday, Australia A were bowled for 292 with Mohammed Siraj claiming 11 wickets in the first unofficial Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Siraj stuck early for India A, dismissing Kurtis Patterson in the third over. This was followed by an 81-run partnership between Usman Khawaja (40) and Travis Head (87), before Siraj bowled the former. From 95/2, the innings slumped to 134/3 with Peter Hanscomb (8) and skipper Mitchell Marsh (9) capping poor personal matches. For the second time in the game, Marnus Labuschange resisted with 37 to help take the score to 184 in a stand worth 50 before Head was bowled by the offspinner K Gowtham for 87.

Labuschagne’s dismissal, bowled by Kuldeep Yadav, was followed by Navdeep Saini having Alex Carey caught behind at 201/8. Resistance came from the Australia A lower order, with Michael Neser (25), Chris Tremain (25) and Brendan Doggett (17*) adding crucial runs to get the score to 292.

Siraj claimed 3/77 in 18 overs to finish with 11/136 in the match.

India A’s chase began on a sour note. First ball of the third over, Abhimanyu Easwaran was given lbw for 0 to Tremain. The captain Shreyas Iyer walked out at No 3 and rattled to 28 from 21 balls with three sixes and two fours, but his aggression got the better of him and Holland was the benefactor.

From 33/2 in the tenth over, Agarwal and Bawne took the score to 63/2 in 20 overs without further loss.