Published: Aug 14, 2015, 11:40 AM (IST)
Edited: Aug 14, 2015, 11:40 AM (IST)
Usman Khawaja, the opener and captain of Australia A, has been dismissed for 76, his third 50-plus score in the tri-series, to help Australia A to a solid start in the final against India A in Chennai. Choosing to bat first, he combined with Joe Burns to punish the bowling, especially seamer Sandeep Sharma, in the first ten overs. He kept milking the bowling to maintain a steady strike-rate, but he gave away his wicket at a crucial juncture, when a few quick wickets had set his team back, by lofting legspinner Karn Sharma to deep mid-off, caught ironically, by Sandeep Sharma, in the 33rd over. LIVE UPDATES: India A vs Australia A, final, A-team ti-series, Chennai
Australia A got off to a brisk start in an eventful third over of the game, bowled by Sandee Sharma. Khawaja played a loose drive to nick the bowler behind, but wicketkeeper Sanju Samson spilled the catch after a dive. In the same over, he under-edged the bowler between keeper and slip for a boundary.
He had earlier survived a run-out chance as Manish Pandey, the fielder at cover, dived to cut off a push by Joe Burns, and threw the ball quickly to the wicketkeeper, who couldn’t collect the ball properly due to a slightly wayward throw.
This is the third game between the two teams in the A-team tri-series. The first two were won by Australia A, a 119-run win in the first match, and a three-wicket win in the next. South Africa A, the third team in the event, were knocked out with a 34-run loss to India A on Thursday.
