Australia A started their India A sojourn well in the four-day format by defeating the home side by 98 runs in the first unofficial Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Australia had scored 243 runs in their first innings thanks to 127 by Usman Khawaja. Mohd Siraj starred for India A with the ball picking 8/59. India A replied with 274 runs with Ankeet Bawane making 91 and Michael Neser picking 4/61.

Australia fared better in the second innings scoring 292 with Travis Head making 87 and Siraj picked three wickets more to end up with 11 wickets in the match.

India A got a target of 262 runs and they crumbled like a pack of cards. Apart from Mayank Agarwal’s 80, Iyer’s 28 and Bawane’s 25, none of the other batsmen reached double figures or stood in front of the Australian bowlers. There were five ducks in the Indian batting. Jon Holland was the pick of the Aus A bowlers with figures of 6/81.

India A lost the match by 98 runs and went down 0-1 in the two-match series.

BRIEF SCORES:
AUS-A 243 & 292 defeated IND-A 274 & 163 (M AGARWAL 80; J HOLLAND 6/81) by 98 runs