Siraj Gets Konstas But Endures Rusty Outing In First Red-Ball Game Since England Tour

In what was his first red-ball outing since his heroic showing in the fifth Test against England at The Oval, where he took 9 wickets and bowled India to an unlikely win, Mohammed Siraj had a day to forget as he registered figures of 1/94 in the second unofficial Test against Australia ‘A’, going at nearly six runs per over. Siraj struggled for control and was not aided by a flat Lucknow pitch, which yet again favoured the batters.

However, even in this forgetful outing, the 31-year-old still managed to create an impact, dismissing Australia A’s best batter Sam Konstas for 49. Siraj had Konstas caught behind, with the youngster nicking one to the wicketkeeper, Dhruv Jurel. It meant Konstas, in this tour, got dismissed under fifty for the first time in three innings. 

India fielded a strong pace attack with Prasidh Krishna also featuring, however, the latter struggled as well, conceding 1/76 while going at 4.50 runs per over. Prasidh played the first unofficial Test which saw 13 wickets fall 1,119 runs and there he registered match figures of 0/90.

25-year-old Gurnoor Brar was the pick of the pacers, taking 3/75, while Manav Suthar took 5/107 as India ‘A’ bowled Australia ‘A’ out for 420. For the visitors, Nathan McSweeney (74), Jack Edwards (88) and off-spinner Todd Murphy (76) were the pick of the lot with the bat in hand. 

India ‘A’ have a very strong batting line-up in this game, featuring all of KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Reddy and Jurel.