The first four-day match between India A and Australia A has ended in a draw on a fourth-straight wet day in Lucknow.
The Indians declared on 7-531, one run behind the Aussies, after only 38 overs were possible due to intermittent rain in the first and second sessions.
The visitors reached 0-56 in the inconsequential second innings, with Sam Konstas (27no) and Campbell Kellaway (24no) both unbeaten.
The hosts began the final day 129 runs in arrears and looked determined to draw level as quickly as possible.
Dhruv Jurel’s excellent innings ended on 140 when Fergus O’Neill had the wicketkeeper caught by allrounder Liam Scott.
Devdutt Padikkal got a century of his own and reached an even 150 before he was dismissed by Corey Rocchiccioli just before the declaration.
It was the off-spinner’s third wicket, making him the only Australian to take multiple wickets, after 36.1 overs of toil on the placid Ekana Stadium pitch.
“The one thing we’ve noticed here is when batters are in, it’s incredibly hard to get them out,” Rocchiccioli said after play.
“You’ve got to ask big questions for long enough and create pressure. All I was really thinking about was hold, hold, hold. And then hopefully one gets your breakthrough.”
With a tour to India 18 months away for Australia’s Test side, Rocchiccioli knows this series will provide invaluable experience for be he and fellow spinners Todd Murphy (0-102) and Cooper Connolly (1-71).
Nathan Lyon will be 39 when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy returns to the subcontinent and Rocchiccioli is soaking up all the information at his disposal should he be called up for the blockbuster series.
“(They are) completely foreign conditions,” Rocchiccioli, who has previously toured with the MRF Academy, said.
“It’s really helpful … to have some extreme conditions placed upon you, whether that’s the heat and the humidity, dealing with how to be gripping the ball, or just what the wicket plays (like) here.
“(You can) start to understand what you’re good at, what you’re not good at, and what your method looks like here compared to Australia.”
Australia A tour of India
India A four-day squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Narayan Jagadeesan (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (vice-captain, wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Harsh Dubey, Ayush Badoni, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Khaleel Ahmed, Manav Suthar, Yash Thakur. Second match only: KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj
Australia A four-day squad: Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Jack Edwards, Campbell Kellaway, Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Fergus O’Neill, Oliver Peake, Josh Philippe, Corey Rocchiccioli, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton. Second match only: Will Sutherland
September 16-19: First four-day match: Match drawn
September 23-26: Second four-day match, Ekana Stadium, Lucknow, 3pm AEST
India A one-day squad (first match): Rajat Patidar (c), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Priyansh Arya, Simarjeet Singh
India A one-day squad (second and third matches): Tilak Varma (c), Rajat Patidar (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Riyan Parag, Ayush Badoni, Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Gurjapneet Singh, Yudhvir Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Porel (wk), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh
Australia A one-day squad: Cooper Connolly, Harry Dixon, Jack Edwards, Sam Elliott, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Lachlan Hearne, Todd Murphy, Tanveer Sangha, Liam Scott, Lachie Shaw, Tom Straker, Will Sutherland, Henry Thornton
September 30: First one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST
October 3: Second one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 3pm AEST
October 5: Third one-day match, Green Park, Kanpur, 4pm AEDT
