The Indians are getting back in the groove of the longest format, as they have come up with a decent performance in the ongoing three-day warm-up clash against Australia A. Day 2 of the tie, on Monday, at the Drummoyne Oval in Sydney, saw the Indians keeping themselves afloat.
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On Day 1, the Indians, who elected to bat first, were off to a shaky start. Nonetheless, Cheteshwar Pujara and skipper Ajinkya Rahane ensured that the drive India to a respectable total of 2479, courtesy their sublime innings of 54 and 117, respectively. Meanwhile, Australia's James Pattinson was the star, claiming 358.
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As for Day 2, it began on a shaky note for the Indians. The visitors, who were 2378 overnight, lost Mohammed Siraj for an unfortunate duck to Mark Steketee. As the score reached 2479, the Indians decided to declare, while Rahane stayed unbeaten on 117, along with Kartik Tyagi on one.
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As the Australians came out to bat, the Indian bowlers were off to a terrific start. Pacer Umesh Yadav got rid of the openers, Will Pucovski (1) and Joe Burns (4), within the opening seven overs of the innings.
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Nonetheless, it was followed by a 55-run stand for the third wicket, between Marcus Harris and skipper Travis Head, before the latter departed for 18 to Siraj. Just eight runs later, at the score of 68, Harris fell for 35 to veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
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It was then the pair of Cameroon Green and Nic Maddinson who took charge. Nonetheless, just 30 runs later, Maddinson departed for 23 to Ashwin. However, it was followed by an impressive 104-run stand for the sixth wicket, before wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Paine fell for 44 to Umesh.
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Meanwhile, it was Green, who stayed in control of his innings, throughout, as he brought up his fifth First-Class century. Although incoming batsman James Pattinson was dismissed for mere three by Siraj, Michael Neser contributed 33, before being run out at the score of 2698.
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It was then the pair of Green and Steketee, who stayed unbeaten until stumps on Day 2, as the score for the Australians read 2866, with the batsmen on 114 and one, respectively. As for the Indian bowlers, Umesh nailed it with figures of 344, while Siraj and Ashwin claimed a couple each, as the hosts lead by 39 runs.Brief scores: India A 2479 dec (Rahane 117, Pujara 54; Pattinson 358) trail Australia A 2868 (Green 114*, Paine 44; Umesh 344) by 39 runs.
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