The first unofficial Test match between India A and Australia A concluded in a draw. The match, held in Lucknow, saw the visitors scoring 532 runs for 6 wickets in 98 overs in their first innings. In response, India A scored 531 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 141.1 overs. By the end of the fourth and final day, Australia had scored 56 runs without losing a wicket in their second innings.
On the fourth day of the match, Devdutt Padikkal reached his century. He played a magnificent innings of 150 off 281 balls. At the end of the third day, he returned not out along with Dhruv Jurel (who scored 129 runs) after scoring an unbeaten 86 runs off 178 balls.
The match belonged to the batsmen
The pitch provided more assistance to the batsmen than expected. Both India A and Australia A's batsmen displayed resilience on this pitch. Australia, led by brilliant centuries from Sam Consta (109 runs) and Josh Philippe (123 runs), amassed 532 runs for 6 wickets in just 98 overs. In response, India A's batsmen batted cautiously, using the pitch to their advantage to match the visitors' score.
Jurel and Padikkal's partnership strengthens India A
Chasing Australia's mammoth score of 532, India A's top-order could not produce anything spectacular. Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran scored 44 runs, Narayan Jagadeesan made 64 runs, and Sai Sudharsan scored 73 runs. Meanwhile, captain Shreyas Iyer was dismissed cheaply for only 8 runs.
After losing 4 wickets at 222 runs, Devdutt Padikkal, playing at number 4, forged a crucial 5th wicket partnership of 228 runs in 360 balls with Dhruv Jurel, putting the team in a strong position. Jurel was dismissed for 140 runs off 197 balls, while Padikkal scored 150 runs from 281 balls.
For Australia, Corey Rocchiccioli took the most wickets with 3, while Xavier Bartlett, Liam Scott, Cooper Connolly, and Fergus O'Neill claimed one each.
Padikkal's comeback, completes 3000 first-class runs
India's young star Devdutt Padikkal marked his 3000th first-class run with a century against Australia A. The 25-year-old left-handed batsman has scored 3,338 runs in 74 innings of 45 first-class matches, featuring 7 centuries and 18 half-centuries. In List A cricket, he has amassed 2,071 runs in 33 matches at an average of 79.65, including 9 centuries and 12 half-centuries.
Padikkal's IPL career
Devdutt Padikkal made his IPL debut with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020. He has since played 74 matches, scoring 1,806 runs at an average of 25.43, with 11 fifties and 1 century.
Padikkal's Test debut
Devdutt Padikkal made his Test debut against England in Dharamshala on March 7, 2024. He scored a half-century of 65 runs in his first match. Following this impressive performance, he was selected for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Perth, but he could not perform with the bat in that series. Padikkal was not included for the June England tour.
