Shedge and Nigam rescue India A to deny Australia A a clean sweep in ODI series finale
India A denied Australia A a clean sweep of the unofficial ODI series in Puducherry on Sunday, as a lower-order batting revival and some tight bowling earned the home side a 49-run consolatory win in the third and final game. The victory came too late to change the outcome of the series, which Australia A had already wrapped up 2-1, but it ended the tour on a winning note for the hosts.
Shedge and Nigam pull India A out of the quagmire
Asked to bat first, India A made a flying start. Openers Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya hammered fours and sixes at will, taking the side to 82/0 in 10 overs — with the pair's stand worth 83 by the 10.4th over according to the scoring. Prabhsimran made 39 off 34 balls, while Arya narrowly missed a half-century, falling for 49 off 45 deliveries.
But the next set of 10 overs saw India A wobble wildly. Liam Scott dismissed Prabhsimran and Devdutt Padikkal in successive overs, before Ben Dwarshuis had Arya nicking one behind. Dwarshuis and Will Sutherland triggered a full-blown collapse, claiming three wickets apiece, and India A slipped to 118/5 by the 20th over — and further to 159/6.
The rescue began with Suryansh Shedge, who came in at No. 7 and combined first with captain Ruturaj Gaikwad. The pair added 41 runs over the next 57 deliveries before the 58th ball brought Gaikwad's dismissal, the skipper chopping one from Mitchell Owen to depart for 33.
Then came the decisive revival. Shedge found an able ally in Vipraj Nigam, and the duo added 85 runs off just 77 deliveries for the seventh wicket to take India A past 250. Shedge top-scored with a brisk 66 off 60, while Nigam contributed 40. Once Nigam fell in the 43rd over, India A quickly folded, being bowled out for 275 in the 48th — with the innings closed at 47.3 overs in the official score. Scott finished with 2-26 to go with Dwarshuis's 3-38 and Sutherland's 3-44.
Gurjapneet triggers the Australian collapse
Australia A began their chase positively, with Josh Philippe and Liam Scott adding 82 for the first wicket — a stand marginally slower than India's, but similarly strong. Philippe made 56 and Scott 26 before the partnership was broken: Nigam trapped Philippe leg before, and Nishant Sindhu dismissed Scott in the following over, both departures coming with the score at 82.
Two strong stands then kept the visitors in contention. Lachlan Shaw and Nathan McSweeney added 58 for the third wicket, before McSweeney put on 38 with Nikhil Chaudhary. Anukul Roy had Shaw caught at extra cover, and McSweeney then became the first of three wickets bagged by left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh, the dismissal shifting momentum decisively India's way.
From 177/4 in the 36th over, Australia A slumped to 209/7 in 43, leaving the tail to chase 66 off the last 42 deliveries. Gurjapneet quickly diffused that possibility, dismissing Mitchell Owen in the 44th over and removing Tanveer Sangha in the 46th to push the visitors to the brink. He finished with 3 for 56, well supported by Yash Thakur (2-35) and Nishant Sindhu (2-42).
Thakur wrapped up the victory in the 47th over when captain Todd Murphy hit one to Padikkal, who ran in from long-on to complete a good catch. Australia A were bowled out for 226 in 46.2 overs — their last seven wickets having fallen for just 86 runs.
Consolation after a mixed series
The win was a fitting finale for Shedge in particular. Earlier in the tour, the 23-year-old Mumbai allrounder had been called into the India A squad only after Hardik Pandya withdrew with a shin injury, and he repaid the faith by taking 4-40 against Australia A in Puducherry — crediting Pandya's advice to master a dependable stock ball, with a hard-length, scrambled-seam approach suiting the slowing pitch, according to earlier reporting on October 9.
India A's tour had previously included success in the red-ball leg: the side clinched the two-match unofficial Test series with a 162-run win in the first game, and then survived a late collapse to hold Australia A to a thrilling draw in the second Test in Puducherry earlier in October, with Yash Rathod's unbeaten 80 and Shams Mulani's dogged 131-ball 31 batting out the final day.
Brief scores: India A 275 all out in 47.3 overs (Suryansh Shedge 66, Priyansh Arya 49, Vipraj Nigam 40; Ben Dwarshuis 3-38, Will Sutherland 3-44, Liam Scott 2-26) beat Australia A 226 all out in 46.2 overs (Josh Philippe 56, Nathan McSweeney 39; Gurjapneet Singh 3-56, Yash Thakur 2-35, Nishant Sindhu 2-42) by 49 runs. Series result: Australia A won 2-1.