Published: Jul 25, 2015, 11:38 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2016, 01:50 PM (IST)
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s live blog of Day Four of the first unofficial Test between India A and Australia A at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday. As reported by PTI, Pragyan Ojha’s five wicket-haul ensured that India A bowled out Australia A for 268 before extending their lead to 154 runs by the end of third day’s play. Back in the mix after 18 months, the 28-year-old left-arm spinner Ojha, bowling with a remodelled action, picked up five for 85, while leg spinner Amit Mishra managed three for 55. Medium pacer Abhimanyu Mithun took a wicket as well.
Live Cricket Score: Australia A 161/4 | Overs 46 | Target: 240 | BATTING: Nic Maddinson 37(27), Marcus Stoinis 9(9): The Aussies lose another wicket, before the umpires call for close of play for the match to end as a draw. Australia A will be disappointed, for they were proceeding towards the target quite comfortably. It brings and end to what was otherwise a closely-fought unofficial Test.
Live Cricket Score: Australia A 133/3 | Overs 39 | Target: 240 | BATTING: Nic Maddinson 18(9), Peter Handscomb 0(10): The visitors have lost the wickets of set batsmen Cameron Bancroft (51 off 109) and Travis Head (50 off 77), with two new batsmen at the crease. Nic Maddinson however, has started off with two sixes as he looks to propell his side towards the target as quickly as he can.
Live Cricket Score: Australia A 110/1 | Overs 32 | Target: 240 | BATTING: Cameron Bancroft 46(94), Travis Head 50(69): Bancroft and Head have added 45 runs for the second wicket so far, and Australia A are off to a good start in what now looks like a moderate target for them. Meanwhile, Head has completed his fifty, while Bancroft is four runs away from it at the end of 32 overs.
Live Cricket Score: Australia A 45/1 | Overs 16 | Target: 240 | BATTING: Cameron Bancroft 24(49), Travis Head 7(18): The visitors have lost the wicket of their skipper Usman Khawaja early in their innings, getting caught by Karun Nair off the bowling of Amit Mishra to depart for a 29-ball 12.
Live Cricket Score: India A 206/8 | Overs 78.3 | Lead 239 | BATTING: Amit Mishra 13(39): India A skipper Cheteshwar Pujara has decided to declare after gaining a lead of 239. The declaration comes in shortly after the dismissal of Abhimanyu Mithun. Can the Indian spinners produce a repeat of their first innings performance, or will the Aussie batsmen get the better of them and chase the 240-run target down? Lets find out!
Live Cricket Score: India A 185/6 | Overs 74 | Lead 218 | BATTING: Amit Mishra 7(30), Vijay Shankar 5(14): A flurry of wickets have put the Indians in a spot of bother after what was a decent start in the morning. Nair and Iyer, carrying their bat over from the previous day, were dismissed for 23 and 33 respectively in a space of seven deliveries. Naman Ojha arrived at the crease only to depart four deliveries later, getting bowled by Marcus Stoinis. And its lunch on Day 4!
Marcus Stoinis and Peter Handscomb batted well for the visitors. Handscomb top-scored with a 182-ball 91-run knock, hitting seven boundaries. Stoinis made 77 off 179 balls, and struck 10 fours and a six. In reply, Abhinav Mukund (40) and skipper Cheteshwar Pujara (42) ensured India retained the advantage at stump. Both the wickets were taken by Indian-origin pacer Gurnider Sandhu (2 for 13), who plays for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League (IPL). READ: Pragyan shines on Day 2 of 1st unofficial Test
Teams:
India ‘A’: KL Rahul, Abhinav Mukund, Cheteshwar Pujara (c), Karun Nair, Shreyas Iyer, Naman Ojha (wk), Vijay Shankar, Amit Mishra, Umesh Yadav, Pragyan Ojha, Abhimanyu Mithun.
Australia ‘A’: Usman Khawaja (c), Colin Bancroft, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb, Nic Maddinson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wk), Steve O’Keefe, Sean Abbott, Gurinder Sandhu, Andrew Fekete.
