On Tuesday, September 23, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Indian pace leader Mohammed Siraj once again attracted notice with an outstanding performance in the second unofficial Test match between India A and Australia A.
Due to personal reasons, normal captain Shreyas Iyer is not available, so India After winning the toss, captain Dhruv Jurel chose to field first. The host team used Prasidh Krishna and Siraj to launch their bowling attack. Early breakthroughs were made by Krishna, who gave the home team an early advantage in the second and final matches by dismissing Australian opener Campbell Kellaway for just nine runs.
The innings was then steadied by Australia A’s Konstas and captain Nathan McSweeney, who formed an important 86-run partnership for the second wicket. Just short of reaching half-century, Konstas stepped back to the pavilion when the right-arm pacer’s delivery reached wicketkeeper Jurel.
But Siraj broke the stand by removing Konstas for 49 runs off 91 balls, including seven boundaries, just when he needed to.
For this game, India A made a number of changes to their starting lineup. In order to be ready for the forthcoming two-match Test series in Ahmedabad beginning on October 2, KL Rahul, Siraj, and Nitish Kumar Reddy were added. The last time we saw these three was during the 2-2 tie that took place at the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. In order to assist them restore their match rhythm and hone their talents before the home series against the Caribbean team, these players have been included. Harsh Dubey, an all-rounder, was replaced with Manav Suthar in the starting lineup.
In order to bolster their team, the Australians also made some changes to their lineup, adding Jack Edwards, Will Sutherland, and Henry Thornton. With a century in the first unofficial Test and a 27-run innings in the second, Konstas was in excellent form and will need to keep up his pace on this tour in order to be considered for the Ashes.
Despite runs flowing freely from both sides, the first unofficial Test concluded in a high-scoring stalemate because to the city of Lucknow’s constant rain. In light of the larger objective of providing their players with essential match practice before to forthcoming international matches, both teams now seek to win this second meeting.
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