press trust of india
Chennai, August 1: The script was starkly written a day ago. And it happened accordingly Saturday morning when a hapless India A were routed by 10 wickets here by the Australian A counterparts.
Looking to boost up their confidence ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, Test skipper Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara will be very much disappointed. Both of them failed to perfect the job they do best. Pujara, after being recalled to the Test squad, has not proved the trust of the selectors, which they imposed on him. With an identical 11 runs in each
innings, Pujara is certainly not fit to step into Rahul Dravid’s shoes.
Kohli’s form on the other hand, has dipped since he returned from Australia. The Test captain led the side against a powerless Bangladesh last June, but he himself was not impressive. He has to put up some impressive performances against the Asian neighbours to silence his critics.
India A, starting on their overnight score of 267 for six were bundled out after adding just seven runs in the morning. Pacer Gurinder Sandhu (4/76) wiped out the lower order within half-an-hour. Sandhu turned on the heat after
sending back overnight batsman Shreyas Gopal (0) who did not trouble the scorers and then picked up Varun Aaron (1) and Baba Aparajith (30, 74b, 3×4) in his next couple of overs to dash the hopes of the hosts.
Left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe (4/88) picked the final wicket of Shardul Thakur (4), to complete the formalities.
Needing 61 runs for a win, openers Cameron Bancroft (21 n o, 1×4, 1×6) and Usman Khawaja (41 n o, 23b, 7×4, 1×6) completed the Indian misery in double quick time against a listless attack.
Brief Scores:
India A 135 and 274 (Gurinder Sandhu 4/76) lost to Australia A 349 and 61 for no loss (Usman Khawaja 41 n o) by 10 wickets.