Latest News
Konstas, Philippe star as Australia A go 2-0 up against India A
Australia A's total of 275 proved too many for India A as the visitors won the second unofficial ODI by 69 runs to seal the three-match series 2-0 with a game to spare. Sam Konstas and Josh Philippe's 101-run stand for the second wicket set up the total, and India A's chase never recovered from an early slide, with Rajat Patidar's 67 the only substantial score as the hosts were bowled out for 206.
Mitchell Owen, who took 17 runs off the first over bowled by Arshad Khan and raced to 25 off just 12 balls before being bowled out by Yash Thakur, helped Australia A, which had won the toss, bat first. Konstas and Philippe then settled the innings, building steadily through the middle overs and taking the score past 100 before accelerating.
Philippe ended the 101-run stand with a straight shot to midwicket for 58 after scoring a fifty off 53 balls and continuing to score boundaries. Konstas went on to score his own half-century, settling for 67 out of 88 balls and top-edging a pull to the keeper to reach his own milestone. Lachlan Shaw's knock of 25 came to an end when he skied one against Vipraj Nigam to deep midwicket, and Nathan McSweeney made an attentive 32 before being run out due to a mix-up.
Australia A went from being 207 for 3 in the 37th over and looking like they would reach 300, losing wickets steadily, and they were all out for 275 in 49.5 overs. Arshad got 3 for 56 after finding reverse swing, and Thakur used his cutters well to get 2 for 46.
India A's chase was undone early, with all three of Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal and Ruturaj Gaikwad falling inside the Powerplay. Padikkal grounded out to third man, Gaikwad was caught by Spencer Johnson with a great catch in the same area, and Sudharsan was thrown out by Riley Meredith's short ball. The highest score was Patidar's controlled 67, which included 46 runs with Nishant Sindhu for the fifth and 29 runs off 56 balls.
Patidar, who scored his second fifty of the series, was eventually caught at deep middle wicket by Johnson, who hit another short ball and went 3 for 35. From 134 for 6, India A quickly lost the game, and despite some late hitting from Nigam, Suryansh Shedge, Nigam, and Arshad all fell cheaply. The last-wicket stand was broken when Thakur was caught behind off Owen in the 46th over, but Anukul Roy persevered at the other end and scored an unbeaten 34 runs, including two fours and two sixes.