In IND A vs AUS A, 2nd unofficial Test, Jurel and Prasidh made strong claims, but the opening headache continued. Neither Abhimanyu nor Rahul performed at the top, which will worry the Indian team management
Five members of the Indian Test team tasted Australian conditions while playing for India A against Australia A in two unofficial Tests. KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel played in the second Test in Melbourne, but the other three got two chances, which allowed them to stake a claim to play in the Border-Gavaskar Test series.
Five players’ performance in IND A vs AUS A unofficial Tests
Abhimanyu Easwaran
The 29-year-old player arrived in Australia in great form, but he could not leave his mark in both matches. In four innings, he scored 7, 12, 0 and 17. He was run out in the second innings of the first Test, but other ways of his dismissal have raised the selectors’ concern. He was out behind the wicket three times due to the extra pace and bounce present in the Australian pitches, whereas all the three fast bowlers neither had extra pace nor were they tall.
In Mackay, he got caught by the keeper while trying to defend Jordan Buckingham’s ball. In Melbourne, he was caught in the gully while trying to square-punch Michael Neser’s ball in the first over. In the second inning, he was again out in the gully while trying to drive Nathan McAndrew’s ball. The way he got out has weakened his claim. It is likely that Indian captain Rohit Sharma will not be available for the Perth Test and bowlers like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc will be in front of him, who will have extra pace and bounce.
KL Rahul
In all fairness, Rahul made no major mistakes in either innings. He opened the innings on a difficult Melbourne wicket, scoring 4 and 10. In the first innings, he was dismissed off a superb delivery from Scott Boland where the ball angled in on the off stump and he had to play it, only to take the edge and go behind the stumps.
In the second innings, he looked more comfortable than his counterparts against the fast bowlers but was strangely dismissed off offspinner Corey Jay. Australia A opener Marcus Harris felt Rahul looked comfortable throughout his stay at the crease. But will that be enough to convince the Indian selectors to bring him in as Rohit’s replacement?
Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel was the standout batsman in either team in the second Test and has made a strong case for himself as a pure batsman in the Test series. If Sarfraz Khan cannot handle the pace and bounce of Australia’s fast bowlers, Jurel will definitely have a chance. Jurel played Scott Boland, Michael Neser, and Nathan McAndrew brilliantly. His 80 runs in the first innings came in one of the most difficult conditions in Test cricket.
His pulls, cuts, and drives between defending and leaving the ball were amazing. He played equally well in the second innings. On the morning of the third day, he also got luck on his side, when he escaped being dismissed on a score of 25 off Boland. Knowing that there was a deep third behind, he went for an uppercut. Ollie Davis could not take the catch. Jurel scored 68 runs in the second innings as well, but for the second time in the innings, he was dismissed while trying to hit a big shot in the deep off the off-spinner.
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Apart from scoring 38 runs in the second innings in Melbourne, Reddy did not impress with either bat or ball in both matches. At Mackay, he made 0 and 17, while at Melbourne he scored 16 and 38. His two innings at Melbourne were crucial as he forged a crucial partnership with Jurell. But he was dismissed three times to medium pacer Bo Webster. The tall Tasmanian has been a star in first-class cricket over the past few years, but he is not as intimidating as the other Australia A pacers.
Reddy was dismissed off the bounce all three times in the series of IND A vs AUS A. Twice he went for a pull and once for a cut. He bowled 31 overs in the entire series and picked up just one wicket. It was Nathan McSweeney’s wicket, but here the batsman was more at fault. While scoring was tough against the seamers in Melbourne, Reddy gave away runs at four runs per over in the first innings.
Prasidh Krishna
The tall pacer shone for India in IND A vs AUS A. He took six wickets at Melbourne at an average of 17.30, including four for 50 in the first innings. He also made things difficult for Australia A by taking two wickets in the same over in the second innings. He troubled Australia A’s best opener and Australia’s potential Test opener Marcus Harris a lot and dismissed him three times in the series.
Only two of his wickets were pure bowling. His accuracy and good bounce help him in Australian conditions. He also scored a crucial 29 off 43 balls in the second innings at Melbourne in IND A vs AUS A, which included five boundaries.
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