Published: Jul 31, 2015, 09:00 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 31, 2016, 01:48 PM (IST)
Hello everyone and a very warm welcome to CricketCountry’s coverage of the third day’s play of the second unofficial Test between India A and Australia A. India A elected to bat first but were blown away for a score of just 135 runs by Australia A. Cameron Bancroft lead the Australia A reply hitting a fine score of 150. India A managed to pick wickets but Australia A already lead by over 194 runs and will look to add few more runs on Day Three and put India under pressure. The India A batsmen will be under pressure and will be in for a tough task to save this game from here. Catch the live cricket scores and updates from the second Test at Chennai here.
That’s it for today. A slightly precarious position the home side finds itself in, but Baba Aparajith and the tail will hold the key towards ensuring a decent target for Australia A to chase. At the start of the day, the visitors did well to add 20 runs, before buckling down to chip away at India A’s batting. Join us tomorrow for Day Four of the unofficial Test at Chepauk, Chennai.
Live cricket score India 267/6 | Overs 83 | Lead by 51 runs | Batting: Baba Aparajith 28 (65), Shreyas Gopal 0 (7) | Naman Ojha has lost his wicket to left-arm spinner Stephen O’Keefe for 30 off 44 balls. O’Keefe now has three wickets and effected a run-out. India are ahead only by a slender 53 runs: the tail needs to wag to get India to anywhere near a safe total. OUT! Naman Ojha c Usman Khawaja b Stephen O’Keefe 30 (44)
Live cricket score India 240/5 | Overs 77 | Lead by 26 runs | Batting: Naman Ojha 14(28), Baba Aparajith 22(52)| India A are doing well and will need to not lose any wickets by the end of play. Both Naman and Baba need to play out time.
Live cricket score India 227/5 | Overs 71 | Lead by 13 runs | Batting: Naman Ojha 7(12), Baba Aparajith 16(32)| India A are doing decently at the moment but need to build a strong lead to challenge the Australian A side. They also need to bat time here. Aparajith has done the scoring while Naman is looking to settle down.
Live cricket score India 211/5 | Overs 65 | Trail by 3 runs | Batting: Naman Ojha 6(3), Baba Aparajith 0(4)| India A lose the big wicket of Abhinav Mukund, which is not ideal for them. Shreyas Iyer just gets out to one short of his fifty. OUT! Abhinav Mukund c Bancroft b Agar 59(163) OUT! Shreyas Iyer b O’Keefe 49(66)
Live cricket score India 182/3 | Overs 60 | Trail by 32 runs | Batting: Shreyas Iyer 37(56), Abhinav Mukund 53(151)| India A have got closer to the Australia A total. India A will want to get some way into the lead by the end of play on Day Three.
Live cricket score India 167/3 | Overs 55 | Trail by 47 runs | Batting: Shreyas Iyer 23(35), Abhinav Mukund 52(141)| Shreyas Iyer has looked good so far as Abhinav brings up his fifty. It has been a fine knock from him so far but India A will want him to bat longer and get a big one.
Live cricket score India 154/3 | Overs 48 | Trail by 60 runs | Batting: Shreyas Iyer 15(8), Abhinav Mukund 48(126)| Shreyas Iyer starts the final session with a couple of boundaries. India A will want to get closer to the Australia A total.
TEA! Session India A – Another good session for India A as they have got closer to wiping off the trail which is still 74 runs. Virat Kohli will be happy with his score of 45 though. India A will need big scores to get back in the game.
Live cricket score India 140/3 | Overs 47 | Trail by 74 runs | Batting: Shreyas Iyer 2(3), Abhinav Mukund 47(125)| Abhinav Mukund nears his fifty as India reach Tea at a decent score. Karun Nair was out after playing a quick cameo. OUT! Karun Nair c Khawaja b Sandhu 31(34)
Live cricket score India 119/2 | Overs 41| Trail by 95 runs | Batting: Karun Nair 25(20), Abhinav Mukund 34(106)| Abhinav Mukund now take up the scoring after the wicket of Virat Kohli. Karun Nair has come in and looked very positive which is good for India.
Live cricket score India 83/2 | Overs 34| Trail by 131 runs | Batting: Karun Nair 1(1), Abhinav Mukund 23(83)| Virat Kohli missed out on his fifty as he gets bowled for a score of 45. He will not be happy and so won’t be the many of his fans around the globe. OUT! Virat Kohli b O’ Keefe 45(94)
Live cricket score India 72/1 | Overs 28| Trail by 142 runs | Batting: Virat Kohli 42(81), Abhinav Mukund 17(61)| Virat Kohli is marching towards his fifty as he takes his time to get into his groove. This has been a good knock from him while Abhinav holds the other end.
Live cricket score India 51/1 | Overs 21| Trail by 163 runs | Batting: Virat Kohli 26(51), Abhinav Mukund 12(49)| Australia A begin the post lunch session with Ashton Agar bowling to Virat Kohli. Kohli plays out the over for a maiden.
LUNCH! Session India A – A good session for India A in the context of the game. They picked up the last wicket and have started well in their second innings, they still trail by a big margin and Kohli’s batting will be important for them.
Live cricket score India 51/1 | Overs 20| Trail by 163 runs | Batting: Virat Kohli 26(45), Abhinav Mukund 12(49)| India A are starting to pick up the rate a bit now with Kohli at the crease. Abhinav Mukund has given him good support at the other end as the players head for a lunch break.
Live cricket score India 32/1 | Overs 13 | Trail by 182 runs | Batting: Virat Kohli 11(16), Abhinav Mukund 8(36)| The Indian Test captain, Virat Kohli has started off nicely hitting a couple of boundaries to get going. India need him to play a big innings.
Live cricket score India 21/1 | Overs 8 | Trail by 193 runs | Batting: Virat Kohli 0(1), Abhinav Mukund 8(21)| And just what India did not want, a wicket in a form of a run out. Pujara departs for a low score again. India A in trouble, Virat Kohli has come out to bat. OUT! Cheteshwar Pujara run out (O’ Keefe) 11(27)
Live cricket score India 16/0 | Overs 6 | Trail by 198 runs | Batting: Cheteshwar Pujara 10(23) Abhinav Mukund 5(13)| Andrew Fekete and Gurinder Sandhu are bowling in tandem for Australia A as India A are content to see off the new ball spell from Australia A.
Live cricket score India 4/0 | Overs 1 | Trail by 210 runs | Batting: Cheteshwar Pujara 3(2) Abhinav Mukund 0(4)| India A being their innings with Pujara and Mukund at the crease. Gurinder Sandhu bowls the first over of the innings for Australia A.
Live cricket score Australia 349 | Overs 107.5 | Lead by 214 runs | Batting: Stephen O’Keefe 16(57)| The last wicket has fallen but India have a huge trail of 214 runs to wipe out at first. Andrew Fekete was the last man out when Pragyan Ojha took his fourth wicket to have him caught by Virat Kohli for 10. OUT! Andrew Fekete c Kohli b Ojha 10(21)
Live cricket score Australia 330/9 | Overs 104 | Lead by 195 runs | Batting: Stephen O’Keefe 6(44) Andrew Fekete 1(12)| India A will hope to take the last wicket very soon to ensure the lead is not too much for them. How Australia A bat will be keenly followed.
India A batsmen will be under pressure as they start Day Three firmly on the back foot. Cameron Bancroft’s 150 ensured that Australia A got a huge lead and it will take some batting to save this Test from here for India A.
India A got wickets but not at the cost of big runs. Baba Aparajith took five for 74 but that was not enough to keep the visitors in check. The bowlers will hope that the batsmen step up to save the blushes for them.
Teams:
India A XI: Cheteshwar Pujara(c), Virat Kohli, Abhinav Mukund, Karun Nair, Naman Ojha(w), Shreyas Iyer, Baba Aparajith, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Shardul Thakur, Pragyan Ojha.
Australia A XI: Usman Khawaja(c), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb, Callum Ferguson, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade(w), Ashton Agar, Steve O’Keefe, Gurinder Sandhu, Andrew Fekete.
