India A, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, had a rocky start to their tour of Australia, being bowled out for a mere 107 runs in bowler-friendly conditions at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in Mackay. Brendan Doggett stole the show with a spectacular six-wicket haul, leaving the visitors reeling. Devdutt Padikkal’s 36 stood as the only significant contribution with the bat, as seven other Indian batters failed to reach double digits. Navdeep Saini’s late-order resistance, scoring 23 from No. 9, saved India A from an even more dismal total, barely lifting them past the 100-run mark.
The Indian batting collapse began in the second over when Gaikwad edged a delivery down the leg side, caught by wicketkeeper Josh Philippe off Jordan Buckingham’s bowling. Abhimanyu Easwaran, also part of India’s senior squad, put up a short-lived fight before falling to another sharp catch by Philippe. Promising youngster Sai Sudharsan also failed to convert his start, caught off Doggett, who continued his assault on India A’s middle order.
Baba Indrajith briefly partnered with Padikkal but was dismissed by Todd Murphy just before lunch. Doggett then dismantled the lower-middle order, causing India A’s innings to crumble from 71/4 to 86/9. Saini and Mukesh Kumar’s late resistance helped India A cross 100, but Fergus O’Neill’s final blow ended the innings at 107.
Australia A also struggled in response, as Indian pacers Prasidh Krishna and Mukesh Kumar struck early. Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft, both vying for the opening spot alongside Usman Khawaja in Australia’s Test squad, fell cheaply. Krishna dismissed Harris for 17 and Bancroft for a duck, while Mukesh removed 19-year-old Sam Konstas for another duck. Despite the early setbacks, Nathan McSweeney and Beau Webster steadied Australia A, closing the day just eight runs behind India A’s total.
Brief Scores:
- India A: 107 all out (Devdutt Padikkal 36; Brendan Doggett 6-15)
- Australia A: 99/4 (Beau Webster 33; Prasidh Krishna 2-18, Mukesh Kumar 2-3)