Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], September 23 : Captain Nathan McSweeney's resolute 74 and Jack Edwards' scintillating 88 fuelled Australia A to 350/9 against India A after the end of the opening day of the second unofficial Test in Lucknow. While Australia A thrived on moments of individual brilliance, India A found solace in its left-arm spinner Manav Suthar's five-wicket haul, which kept the hosts in the contest.
Shades of last year's Border-Gavaskar Trophy rivalry unfurled in the opening hour when Mohammed Siraj charged at Australia's teenage Test batter Sam Konstas, trading blows. While Siraj kept Konstas quiet while relentlessly pursuing his wicket, Prasidh Krishna lured Campbell Kellaway to give away a thick outside edge, which flew straight to Sai Sudharsan, stationed at gully.
After hardly getting any room to open his arms, Konstas broke the shackles on his 22nd delivery to pick up his first boundary. He creamed Gurnoor Brar's overpitched effort with a controlled shot for his first boundary of the day. Australia A skipper Nathan McSweeney was quick off the blocks, reeling in three consecutive fours, showing early intent.
Lucknow's scorching heat started to take a toll on players as the second drinks break was taken after the 18th over. McSweeney and Konstas dictated the flow of play by offering no forced shots and playing each delivery on merit, as the first session ended with Australia A putting 77/1 in 27 overs.
The visitors cranked it up in the second session with McSweeney thwacking a four off Siraj to get Australia A going. Konstas topped it up with two more fours against Krishna. With India in dire need of a breakthrough, Siraj took the onus on himself to break the 86-run stand. With Konstas on 49, Siraj forced an outside edge off the 19-year-old to Dhruv Jurel, while trying to defend the ball. A huge cheer erupted from the small section of spectators present at the stadium.
Continuing with his calculative mindset, McSweeney reached his half-century in 110 balls. He made the most of the unprecedented life that he received when N Jagadeesan dropped him on 40 off Krishna. With the tourists standing in a comfortable spot at 137/2 in 41 overs, left-arm spinner Manav Suthar made inroads to engineer a middle-order collapse.
Oliver Peake (29 off 39) became his first victim of the day after he tried to execute a drive on the front foot, but the ball spun through the gap between his bat and pads to rattle the timber. Cooper Connolly hesitated while trying to decide whether to go on backfoot or frontfoot on a slightly full-length delivery. He got caught in an awkward spot, ended up giving an edge to Jagadeesan and returned on a two-ball duck.
McSweeney flicked Krishna for a boundary as both teams went for tea with Australia A notching 186/4. Gurnoor Brar caught the big fish in the opening moments of the final session. McSweeney's top edge flying straight to his Indian counterpart Ayush Badoni at midwicket, forcing him to return on 74 off 162 balls.
Suthar returned to wicket-taking ways with Will Sutherland perishing on 10(27) after a sharp catch at leg slip from Jurel. He completed his five-wicket haul by nabbing Corey Rocchiccioli on 2(5). With wickets falling at the other end, Jack Edwards continued to lead the counterattack and brought up his fifty in quick time with a flurry of boundaries.
Gurnoor ended his swashbuckling exploits on a quick-fire 88(78) after a leading edge fell in Krishna's hands. The day ended with AUS-A's last-wicket pair, Henry Thorton and Todd Murphy, putting up a resisting act on exhibition to end the day on 350/9.