The warm-up match against India A before taking on India in the first Test at Pune meant a lot for the Australian team, in terms of getting their players a feel of the low and slow pitches and getting everyone a hit. But how much has Australia benefited from this game remains to be seen. In fact, Shreyas Iyer, Gowtham made this opportunity count better than the Australians one feels.
Australia got 450+ in their first innings, Smith Marsh got tons but Warner failed with the bat in both the innings, that will be a worrying factor for Australia. India A started of poorly, losing early wickets, but then Shreyas Iyer showed why he is hailed as India’s biggest domestic talent, he got to 202*, when wickets kept falling at the other end, but that did not bother him one bit, he continued scoring at a run a ball and got to his double at a strike rate of 90+, which is great in any form of the game. He cleared the ground on six occasions.
India was finally bundled out for 403, giving Australia a lead of 66 runs. Australia started of miserably losing their top order in a jiffy. Smith opted to put his feet up and take some rest allowing Maxwell, O’Keefe to get a knock in the middle. Maxwell got out early, but Keefe showed some spine in defending. One feels, Keefe is the biggest plus for Australia from this warm-up game.
What will be talked about after the first two Tests would be, if Iyer is included in the squad after this brilliant knock!
