At the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday, September 24, Indian opener KL Rahul had a short and disappointing appearance for India A against Australia A. Australia A placed pressure on the host team with a huge first-inning total of more than 400 runs.
KL Rahul and Narayan Jagadeesan opened the batting for India A as they started their innings in the first session of Day 2.
Despite his calm demeanour, KL Rahul faced 24 balls and scored just 11 runs, including one boundary, before being removed by Will Sutherland after being caught behind by wicketkeeper Josh Phillippe. India A’s momentum was hampered by his early removal, particularly as Australia A had already established a strong score.
Near lunchtime, Sai Sudharsan joined Jagadeesan at the crease after Rahul left. While Jagadeesan put up a solid 24* from 33 deliveries, striking five fours, Sudharsan had scored 1* from five balls at the half. In ten overs, India A reached 38 for a wicket loss.
Previously, Australia A was bowled out for 420 after their innings lasted 97.2 overs. Todd Murphy and Henry Thornton’s solid 91-run partnership for the last wicket bolstered the inning. Thornton stayed undefeated at 32, while Murphy scored 76 from 89 balls with 12 fours and a six. Nathan McSweeney, who scored 74 off 162 balls, and Jack Edwards, who played a fast 88 off 78 deliveries on the first day of play, had earlier been the mainstays of the visitors’ innings.
Gurnoor Brar made an impression for the Dhruv Jurel-led team with scores of 3/75, and Manav Suthar finished with 5/107, taking five wickets. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna both took one wicket. Early in their second innings, India A was under a lot of strain despite their excellent bowling effort. On Day 2, India A was behind by 382 runs at lunchtime.
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