India A all out for low score on Day 1 of second unofficial Test against Australia A

India A were dismissed for just 161 runs. Michael Neser was the wrecker in chief for Australia A with four wickets to his name. 

India A were bowled out for 161 on Day 1 of the second four-day match against Australia A. Dhruv Jurel (80) was the top scorer for India, who were put in to bat after losing the toss at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday. Michael Neser and Beau Webster were the pick of the bowlers for Australia A, taking four and three wickets respectively. Opener KL Rahul (4) failed to make an impact. In reply, Australia A were 31 for no loss at the time of writing this report. Nathan McSweeney (14) and Marcus Harris (9) were at the crease.

India A had a disastrous start, losing four wickets with only 11 runs on the scoreboard. Abhimanyu Easwaran (0) and Sai Kishore (0) were dismissed in the first over. KL Rahul and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (4) followed soon after. This was the third consecutive innings where Ruturaj and Abhimanyu failed to score. Devdutt Padikkal (26) and Jurel then added 53 runs for the fifth wicket before Neser provided the breakthrough for Australia A.

Nitish Reddy (16) and Tanush Kotian (0) also failed to make an impact. Khaleel Ahmed (1) also fell cheaply, leaving India A at 119/8. Jurel, who held firm at one end, helped India A cross 150. He added 36 runs with Prasidh Krishna (14) before McSweeney dismissed him, ending India A's innings. Jurel's innings included two sixes and six fours. Mukesh Kumar (5) remained unbeaten.

Earlier, Jurel and Rahul arrived early in Australia in order to prepare for the the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India A made four changes to the team that played the first match. Ishan Kishan, Baba Indrajith, Navdeep Saini, and Manav Suthar were dropped, with KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Tanush Kotian, and Khaleel Ahmed coming in. Jurel was the wicketkeeper. Australia A lead the two-match series 1-0.