India A vs Australia A: Umesh shines but Green frustrates visitors with ton
Dec 07, 2020
Sydney [Australia], December 7 : Cameron Green remained unbeaten on 114 for Australia A on the second day of the three-day practice match against India A as the hosts ended the day on 286/8 here at the Drummoyne Oval on Monday. Riding on Green's knock, Australia A managed to end the day with a lead of 39 runs.
Earlier, resuming on 237/8, the Ajinkya Rahane-led India A side added 10 more runs to their overnight total before declaring their innings on 247/9. Rahane remained unbeaten on 117.
Coming to bowl, Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin were seen at their best as the duo dismantled the top-order of Australia A and it was only Marcus Harris (35) who could show some fight in the middle. Australia A lost wickets at regular intervals with Umesh dismissing Will Pucovski (1) and Joe Burns (4), while Ashwin sent Harris (35) and Nic Maddinson (23) back to the pavilion. Mohammad Siraj also got one wicket as he clean bowled skipper Travis Head (18), reducing the hosts to 98/5.
However, Cameron Green and Tim Paine then got together at the crease and both batsmen frustrated the visitors by mixing caution with aggression. Green was the more aggressive of the two and he took a liking for the Indian bowling attack.
Both batters put on 104 runs for the sixth wicket, however, after the tea interval, it was once again Umesh who provided the side with a much-needed breakthrough. He had Paine (44) caught by Prithvi Shaw, reducing Australia A to 202/6. Soon after, Siraj sent back James Pattinson (2) to the pavilion, giving India A hopes of walking away with a lead.
Michael Neser then provided the much-needed support to Green in the middle and the duo put on 49 runs for the eighth wicket and this took Australia A ahead in the match. However, in trying to scrape through for a quick single, Neser (33) ended being run out, reducing Australia A to 269/8. In the end, Green (114*) and Mark Steketee (1*) saw out the remaining overs in the day.
Brief Scores: India 247/9 (Ajinkya Rahane 117*, Cheteshwar Pujara 54; James Pattinson 3-58); Australia A 286/8 (Cameron Green 114*, Tim Paine 44; Umesh Yadav 3-44)
