Press Trust of India
\Chennai, August 1: The script was starkly written a day ago. And it has happened accordingly Saturday morning when a hapless India A were routed by rampaging Australia A 10 wickets here.
Looking to boost up their confidence ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, Test skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara will be disappointed very much. Both of them failed to perfect their job what they do best. Pujara, after being recalled in the Test squad, has not proved the trust of the selectors, which they imposed upon him. With an identical 11 runs in each innings, Pujara is certainly not fit to step into Rahul Dravid’s shoes.
Kohl’s form on the other hand, has been dipped since he returned from Down Under. The Test captain led the side against a mighty Bangladesh last June, but he himself was not impressive. He has to put up some miraculous performance against the Asian neighbours to avoid critics now.
India A, starting on their overnight score of 267 for six were bundled out after adding just seven runs in the morning. Pacer Gurinder Sandhu (4/76) wiped the lower order within the half an hour. Sandhu turned on the heat after sending back overnight batsman Shreyas Gopal (0) without troubling the score and then picked up Varun Aaron (1) and Baba Aparajith (30, 74b, 3×4) in his next couple of overs to flatten India A hopes.
Left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe (4/88) picked the final wicket of Shardul Thakur (4), to complete the formalities.
Needing 61 runs for a win, openers Cameron Bancroft (21 n o, 1×4, 1×6) and Usman Khawaja (41 n o, 23b, 7×4, 1×6) completed the misery in double quick time.
Brief Scores:
India A 135 and 274 (Gurinder Sandhu 4/76) lost to Australia A 349 and 61 for no loss (Usman Khawaja 41 n o) by 10 wickets.
