Pacers set tone and spinners finished off India-A’s 162-run win over Australia-A
India-A defeated Australia-A by 162 runs in the first ‘Test’ at the Siechem Cricket Stadium in Puducherry on Friday, sealing the match early in the second session after a decisive bowling display.
Pace bowlers delivered the early breakthrough as Anshul Kamboj and Tushar Deshpande combined to remove four top-order wickets in the opening hour, and spin later tightened the contest after lunch to complete the victory about 30 minutes into the second session. Australia-A had shown caution against the spinners, but the surface’s variable bounce allowed the pacers to extract movement and unsettle the batting lineup.
Kamboj exploited the uneven bounce, his length delivery taking Nathan McSweeney’s glove on the way to the wicketkeeper, and two overs later Peter Handscomb was beaten by a fuller ball that sneaked under his bat and hit the off-stump. Deshpande capitalised on the same surface characteristics, dismissing Josh Philippe and Liam Scott with consecutive balls by reading the length and bowling fuller deliveries.
Fergus O’Neill resisted India-A’s charge and faced the hat-trick ball, compiling a 52-ball 47 that included five fours and one six. He lofted off-spinner Tanush Kotian twice over mid-wicket for a six and a four and played a reverse sweep past point during his stay; Kotian later removed Jason Sangha for 26.
Jason Sangha had two reprieves off left-arm spinner Shams Mulani earlier in his innings — Devdutt Padikkal did not opt for a DRS on a leg-before appeal and Kumar Kushagra missed a stumping opportunity. Todd Murphy then added resilience alongside O’Neill, their eighth-wicket partnership of 67 taking the game into the second session before Mulani enticed O’Neill into a slog sweep to deep square leg three short of his half-century.
Mulani dismissed Murphy and Brendan Doggett in his next two overs to wrap up the chase; Deshpande finished with figures of 3/14 and Mulani with 3/57. The final scores read: India-A 334 & 199 beat Australia-A 171 & 200 in 55.1 overs (O’Neill 47). Kumar Kushagra was named Player of the Match.
