India A vs Australia A Day 2 Report: Cameron Green Reaches Century As AUS A Lead By 39 Runs On Stumps: Cameron Green was unbeaten with 114 for Australia A on day two of the three-day practice match against India A, as the hosts finished 286/8 in Sydney at Drummoyne Oval on Monday. Taking advantage of Green’s blow, Australia A managed to finish the day with a 39-run lead.
Earlier, resuming 237/8, the India A team led by Ajinkya Rahane added 10 more runs to their night total before declaring their innings at 247/9. Rahane was unbeaten at 117. Coming into bowling, Umesh Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin were seen in their prime as the duo dismantled Australia A’s top order and only Marcus Harris (35) was able to show some fighting in between. Australia A lost ground at regular intervals with Umesh firing Will Pucovski (1) and Joe Burns (4), while Ashwin sent Harris (35) and Nic Maddinson (23) back to the pavilion. Mohammad Siraj also landed a wicket when he cleared out bowling skipper Travis Head (18), reducing the hosts to 98/5.
However, Cameron Green and Tim Paine teamed up in the crease and both hitters frustrated the visitors by mixing caution with aggression. Green was the more aggressive of the two and liked the Indian bowling attack.
Both batters made 104 runs for sixth field, however, after the tea break, it was once again Umesh who provided the team with much-needed breakthrough. Prithvi Shaw caught Paine (44), reducing Australia A to 202/6. Soon after, Siraj sent James Pattinson (2) back to the pavilion, giving India A hope of leaving with an advantage.
Michael Neser then provided much-needed support for Green in the middle and the duo made 49 runs for the eighth wicket and this brought Australia A ahead in the match. However, in trying to get a quick single, Neser (33) ended up running out of business, reducing Australia A to 269/8. In the end, Green (114 *) and Mark Steketee (1 *) saw the remaining overs on the day.
Brief scores: India 247/9 (Ajinkya Rahane 117 *, Cheteshwar Pujara 54; James Pattinson 3-58); Australia A 286/8 (Cameron Green 114 *, Tim Paine 44; Umesh Yadav 3-44)
