The India A team faced a heavy defeat against Australia A in the second ODI match held in Kanpur. This performance came after a contrasting display of batting prowess by the Indian team in Ahmedabad. The Indian bowlers in Kanpur had a difficult time against a dominant Australian batting lineup. The match, part of the ongoing ODI series, saw a significant turnaround in fortunes.
In a stark contrast to their high score in the previous match, India A, led by Shreyas Iyer, was restricted to under 250 runs. Australia A capitalized on this opportunity, winning the rain-affected match by 9 wickets.
The Indian batting order crumbled after a promising start in the previous match. Abhishek Verma, replacing Priyansh Arya, was dismissed on the first ball. Captain Shreyas Iyer, who had a good run in the last match, didn’t perform well, leading to early wickets for India A.
Tilak Varma once again played a crucial role, mirroring his performance in the Asia Cup final, scoring 94 runs and helping India A to reach 246 in 45.5 overs. Riyan Parag also contributed with a half-century, but could not make a bigger score. Jack Edwards, the Australian captain, was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets.
Australia started its innings with aggressive batting, scoring more than 40 runs in the first six overs before the rain intervened. The match was then adjusted with the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method. Australia A needed 160 runs in 25 overs. After the dismissal of Jake Fraser-McGurk, Machenzie Harvey, along with Cooper Connolly, continued their explosive batting display. Australia A reached the target in just 100 balls, winning by 9 wickets. Harvey scored 70 runs off 49 balls, Connolly scored 50 runs off 31 balls, and McGurk contributed 36 runs off 20 balls. The Australian team smashed 22 fours and 6 sixes, leveling the series 1-1.
