Melbourne: An unbeaten 73 from teenaged batter Sam Konstas and 46 not out from Beau Webster helped Australia A beat India A by six wickets in the second four-day game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and win the series 2-0.
Previously, wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel gave some hope to India A through a gritty 68 off 122 balls, his second fifty of this game coming under pressure. He was also helped by contributions from Nitish Kumar Reddy (38), Tanush Kotian (44) and Prasidh Krishna (29) in stitching a lower-order rearguard act as India A were bowled out for 229 in 77.5 overs.
More hopes were raised for an India A win when Krishna removed Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft for a pair of golden ducks in defence of 168. With Nathan McSweeney and Oliver Davies falling, Australia A were reduced to 73/4, but Konstas’ hitting an important half-century helped him anchor the chase, with support coming in from Webster.
In the morning, Jurel and Reddy combined for a 94-run stand for the sixth wicket to keep the Australian bowlers at the bay before Corey Rocchiccioli had the former holing out to cow corner. Before being dismissed, Jurel had strengthened his case for a middle-order spot in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy through a mix of expansive strokeplay and solid defensive play.
After Webster removed Reddy for 38, Kotian and Krishna hanged around for neat knocks before Rocchiccioli and captain McSweeney took the remaining scalps, with the former finishing with figures of 4-74 from 23.5 overs.
In the chase, Harris’ inside edge on an extravagant drive was caught by Jurel, and was followed by Bancroft being trapped lbw with a stunning yorker from Krishna. With Mukesh Kumar and Kotian dismissing McSweeney and Davies, Australia A were in trouble, till Konstas and Webster pulled them out of it with timely knocks to get the game in Australia A’s favour.
With the second four-day game ending, the Australia squad for the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test is expected to be named anytime from now. The marquee series opener will be played at Perth Stadium on November 22, followed by games in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Brief Scores: India A 161 and 229 (Dhruv Jurel 68, Corey Rocchiccioli 4-74, Beau Webster 3-49) lost to Australia A 223 and 169/4 (Sam Konstas 73 not out, Beau Webster 46 not out; Prasidh Krishna 2-37) by six wickets
–IANS
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