Australia A v India A, 1st Unofficial Test, Day 1 Review: Hosts on the driver's seat

Leg spinner Michael Swepson’s fabulous spell of 4/78 saw Australia A dominate India A on day 1 one of the first Unofficial Test played at the Allan Border Field, Brisbane. Australia A ended on a stable 25/0 after bowling their Indian counterparts for just 230 who were at one stage 118/3 in the 1st innings.

Batting first after winning the toss, Indians slid to a below-par score after getting to a steady start. Opener Akhil Herwadkar and Faiz Fazal added a solid 74 runs for the first wicket before Daniel Worrall intervened and broke the stand with the wicket of Herwadkar.

Shortly, first change bowler David Moody claimed Fazal’s wicket to give Australia another big breakthrough. Leg spinner Michael Swepson then came into the scene and wrecked the iNdian batting line up.

The leggie’s spell of 4/78 was the main talking point of the match. It triggered a sudden collapse in the middle and left the Indian reeling. His first scalp came in the form of No.3 Shreyas Iyer who brought his downfall after giving a simple return catch to the bowler. He did the rest of the job after Pandey, India’s only successful batsman today, departed.

Pandey (77) and Karun Nair stabilised the innings to some extent with their 78 runs stand for the fourth wicket. But, Pandey’s departure in the 60th over saw Indian batting order crumble badly. Swepson again began creating pressure and snapped the struggling Karun Nair shortly after their skipper’s departure.

The leggie then added to the misery of Hardik Pandya after he got him clean bowled. Shardul Thakur and Jayant Yadav hung there for some time before Swepson struck again with the wicket of Thakur and complete his four-wicket haul. Seamer Moody then cleaned up the tail pocketing Varun Aaron and Shahbaz Nadeem to put an end to the India A innings.

‘Australia A’ openers Camron Bancroft and Joe Burns then ensured that the day ends on a high for them and played out the remaining overs with ease .

Brief Scores:

India A: 230 all in 51.3 overs (Manish Pandey 77, Michael Swepson 4/78)

Australia A: 25/0 in 6.0 overs (Joe Burns 12, Cameron Bancroft 10)