Australia A quicks on top in India

Australia A have begun their Indian tour with a grinding day’s play to hold India A to 6-221 at stumps on day one in Chennai.

Partnership bowling was the key for Australia’s quicks, although onlookers could be forgiven for questioning whether it was the dot-ball pressure they created or the day’s Indian summer monsoon heat that was more suffocating.

India A’s openers started explosively, pillaging 20 from the first 11 balls before Tasmanian paceman Andrew Fekete sent Abhinav Mukund’s stump flying for nine.

Captain Cheteshwar Pujara joined KL Rahul in the middle and, while the Australian bowlers’ lines tightened and the scoring rate dipped, the two built a steady partnership.

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Pujara raises his bat after making fifty

Runs and wickets were hard to come by for both sides as Fekete and Gurinder Sandhu bowled a series of maidens. It wasn’t until after the lunch break and a century-partnership later that Fekete struck again for the breakthrough, nabbing Pujara for 55.

Fekete, who bowled six maidens, finished with figures of 2-38 from 17 overs; an indefatigable output hinting at how he has progressed from a 28-year-old making his first-class debut two years ago to being last season's second-highest Bupa Sheffield Shield wicket-taker.

Spinner Steve O’Keefe also picked up two wickets for the day, including Karun Nair for a duck to put the game back in the balance at 3-132.

Opener Rahul opened his shoulders alongside batting partner Shreyas Iyer for a period after lunch to the delight of the local crowd, and together they had the scoreboard ticking along nicely into the tea break.

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KJ Rahul strikes a pull shot in Chennai

Shreyas signalled his intention to continue his attack after the break but was bowled a short time later by Sandhu for 39 off 58 balls.

Having survived and thrived in 287 minutes of heat, Rahul fell just four runs short of a century to Sean Abbott (1-23 off 14 overs).

With India A at 5-214, the quicks then pulled it back further for Australia.

At one stage Fekete and Abbott’s partnership yielded 1-1 from seven overs and dried up dangerman Naman Ojha.

Ojha had tormented the Australians in last year’s A series between the two sides in Australia when he scored three centuries on the trot, including a double-century. But today he never really got going and spooned O’Keefe to a waiting Sandhu for 10.

In the time it took the Australians to celebrate the wicket and new batsman Amit Mishra to take strike, ominous grey clouds had blown in on the first breeze of the day and the umpires conferred about the quality of the light.

Spinner Travis Head was called on to see out the remaining overs with O’Keefe, but managed one ball before play was called off due to bad light. Minutes later the monsoon rains poured.

Shankar Vijay (4no) and Amit Mishra (0no) will resume for India A on day two.

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