India tour of Australia: Batters fail to deliver at MCG as India A sit on the brink of defeat

Indian batters had yet another bad day at the office in the ongoing second unofficial Test match between India A and Australia A in Melbourne. At Stumps on Day 2, India A are 73/5 and lead by 11 runs with five wickets in hand in their second innings. With not too many runs on the board, the side will look to avoid the embarrassment of defeat which will be a major setback for the side before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which starts in two weeks' time.

Indian batters disappoint again

Having bowled out Australia for 223 in their first innings, the Indian A side trailed by 62 runs and needed a good start to overcome the deposit. However, things did not start on a positive note as the Indian A side lost wickets at consistent intervals. Having been 11/4 in their first innings, the team had another horrible start as they were reduced to 56/5 in the second innings. KL Rahul (10), Abhimanyu Easwaran (17) and Sai Sudharsan (3) all flopped with the bat as Australian bowlers wreaked havoc at MCG.

Skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (11) and Devdutt Padikkal (1) also went down easily as India A were no competition to the opposition bowling attack. Devdutt Padikkal and Beau Webster bagged two wickets each while Corey Rocchiccioli scalped the precious wicket of Rahul.

At Stumps, Dhruv Jurel was batting on 19 while Nitish Reddy occupied the other end with 9 runs. With five wickets in hand and a mere lead of 11 runs, the Indian A side will need a miracle to save the contest before they enter the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The Indian team has been victorious in the last two visits to Australia and also won the Boxing Day Test in 2020. Rohit Sharma’s men will look to repeat the heroics as they look to regain momentum in the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s in June 2025.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy (India-Australia series) Schedule

1st Test: 22nd November to 26th November, Perth

2nd Test: 6th December to 10th December, Adelaide

3rd Test: 14th December to 18th December, Brisbane

4th Test: 26th December to 30th December, Melbourne

5th Test: 3rd January to 7th January, Sydney