da betsson： Cameron Bancroft led Australia A’s charge at the MA Chidambaram Stadium with a solid ton, to leave Australia A with a formidable lead on the second day of the second unofficial Test against India A
The Report by Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai30-Jul-2015
ScorecardCameron Bancroft’s 150 helped Australia A dominate the hosts on the second day on the unofficial Test•K Sivaraman
Cameron Bancroft led Australia A’s charge at the MA Chidambaram Stadium with a solid ton, and added a brace of century partnerships with Usman Khawaja and Callum Ferguson to leave Australia A with a formidable lead on the second day of the second unofficial Test against India A. His 150 off 267 balls first formed the spine and later the muscle of Australia A’s reply as India A were sent on the run, despite B Aparajith’s maiden five-wicket haul in first class cricket. Australia A capped the second day with a lead of 194.I was lucky in the beginning – Aparajith
da betsul： Cameron Bancroft’s century helped Australia A strengthen their grip on the second official Test in Chennai but B Aparajith’s maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket gave the hosts some late spark.
Though Aparajith believed that having Marcus Stoinis stumped for 10 off 32 balls was a lucky break, he was satisfied with the way be bowled in a second spell which yielded three wickets in eight overs for 27 runs.
“I am really happy but I think I was a bit lucky in the beginning. The first wicket, that gave me the confidence,” Aprajith said.
“Before that, it was an okay start for me. After the first wicket, I got confidence. After that, the second spell was a better spell and the last four wickets I took, I was really happy with it. The first spell was not as good as I thought but the second spell was better.”
Aprajith also admitted that he would have been happier had he struck earlier in the day. Each of Aprajith’s five wickets came in the last session.
“Maybe if it was earlier, I would have been more happier. But somethings, we need to be patient. I think in Chennai wicket, you can’t run through a side in one session or 35 or 40 overs.”
Bancroft stood tall and punched through the covers. When the bowlers erred short, he was quick to camp back, unleashing strong cuts and pulls towards the locked I,J,K stands. Bancroft even played a pin-point straight drive off Shreyas Gopal, beating the bowler and mid-on. But the strike, which brought up his hundred was the pick of the lot. He stepped out, manufactured his own length, met the pitch and sent an Aparajith delivery soaring over the sightscreen to ping the roof. Bancroft pumped his fist and hugged Ferguson; the crowd applauding his effort on a typically slow Chennai pitch where the ball often stopped on the batsmen.India A’s bowling veered from disciplined to loose, as Australia A began the day at 43 for 0. Varun Aaron was in his second over when he had Khawaja poking at one that flew between the wicketkeeper and slip. The next ball spat from a length and hit Khawaja on the glove. The batsman then shrugged off the early jitters with a steady diet of sweeps and flicks against Pragyan Ojha, who had largely stuck to a middle-and-leg line in his first spell.There was a great buzz in the crowd when Pragyan’s second burst of the day produced three wickets in 19 minutes, just before lunch. After having to switched from the Pavilion End to Pattabiram End, Pragyan looped the ball further up and got some purchase from the pitch as Australia A were reduced to 123 for 3 in 38 overs.Khawaja was the first to depart when he was pinned lbw by a signature Pragyan slider, which ended a 111-run opening stand. Joe Burns then left his crease and played to mid-on with Abhinav Mukund taking a smart leaping catch. Peter Handscomb nicked to Virat Kohli at slip for a two-ball duck.The buzz faded, however, when Shreyas Iyer dropped Ferguson at short leg on 14. He juggled and aimed to grab it on the rebound, but to no avail. Soon after, Ferguson was reprieved on 25 when Kohli reacted late at slip and fluffed a sharp catch.Ferguson reached 54 off 103 balls before India A finally managed to hold onto a catch. He shaped for a pull only to top-edge a Gopal googly to Karun Nair at deep square leg. However, Bancroft ensured that the lead ticked past 100 before tea.Aaron darted it short and offered room in the second session and so did Gopal as the Australian batsmen settled in. Aparajith and Gopal began bowling from round the wicket but they were tamed by regular sweeps and trips down the track, the hallmark of Australia A’s approach against spin.Marcus Stoinis perished when he jumped out and was out stumped in the eighth over after tea. The breakthrough was a result of brief indecision. The ball was tossed over to Gopal before it was belatedly given to Aparajith, who seemingly got good turn as the day wore on.Matthew Wade found his bearings with a violent slog-sweep and then laid into a cut, socking Mukund on the shin at short leg. He hobbled off the field and did not return but, two balls later, Wade was bowled by Aparajith. In his next over, he had Bancroft lobbing one to leg-slip, bringing an end to the 367-minute knock. Each of Aparajith’s five scalps came in the last session of the day.Gurinder Sandhu added more cushion by clouting two fours and four sixes during his 27-ball 36, and India A were left wilting in the heat, literally and figuratively, for the second day in a row.