Nathan McSweeney’s well-crafted century headlined Australia A’s dominant win over India A in the first unofficial ODI in Puducherry on Tuesday (October 6). McSweeney rescued Australia at a critical stage alongside Will Sutherland to help them post 274 before the bowlers defended the total with ease. India A were never in the hunt during the chase and crumbled for just 149, to go down by 125 runs.
Opting to bat first, Australia A appeared to put the hosts on the backfoot when Mitchell Owen hammered a six and a four in the very first over of the game. Sam Konstas then followed it up with a couple of boundaries in the second over to set the tone but India A quickly bounced back. Owen top-edged a pull to depart for just 10 and Konstas also mistimed a short-pitched delivery to give Yash Thakur his second wicket. Arshad Khan then put India A completely on top as he struck just three balls later to get rid of Josh Philippe as Australia A were reduced to 30/3 in just the fifth over.
Liam Scott and McSweeney then steadied the ship with a vital partnership but Nishant Sindhu removed the former to maintain India A’s dominance. With Nikhil Chaudhary also departing just three overs later, Australia A found themselves in deep trouble with half side already back in the pavilion. That’s when skipper Sutherland joined forces with McSweeney to revive their side. With time not a factor, both batters were content on batting deep into the innings. McSweeney made use of a reprieve and helped himself to a fifty and Sutherland set himself up for a long haul as well.
Sutherland then turned on the heat when he smashed Anukul Roy for a six before bringing up his fifty and then targeted the same bowler in his next over for three successive big hits over the fence to put India A under severe pressure. While India A did fight back via Suryansh Shedge’s four-wicket haul, McSweeney went on to add some vital runs en route his century, ensuring Australia finished with a competitive total on the board.
Chasing 275, India A lost their top three very early. Sai Sudharsan gloved Mahli Beardman down the leg side to fall for just 1 before Devdutt Padikkal and Prabhsimran Singh were both dismissed by the same bowler in a single over. Rattled at 24/3, India A needed a partnership to get the chase back on track. Ruturaj Gaikwad held firm for a brief period and Rajat Patidar did his bit, collecting vital boundaries to keep the scorecard ticking.
However, Spencer Johnson came into the attack for his second spell and immediately removed Gaikwad that dented India A big time. Sindhu impressed for a while with some boundaries but he too perished at an important period by findingf the fielder in the deep. While McSweeney found an able partner from a similar situation in the first innings, that wasn’t the case for Patidar. The impressive Beardman claimed his fourth victim in Shedge, and Patidar himself perished after going past fifty, pretty much signalling the end for India A. It was only a matter of time before the hosts folded in the 32nd over of the chase.
Brief scores: Australia A 274 in 48.2 overs (Nathan McSweeney 123, Will Sutherland 77; Suryansh Shedge 4-40) beat India A 149 in 31.4 overs (Rajat Patidar 53; Mahli Beardman 4-23) by 125 runs.