Shedge, Nigam and bowlers set up India A's consolatory win

India A denied Australia A a clean sweep of the unofficial ODI series in Puducherry as lower-order batting revival and some tight bowling earned the home side a 49-run consolatory win in the third and final game of the series.

Suryansh Shedge was the home side's best batter, scoring a vital 66 from 60 from No. 7. He and Vipraj Nigam added an 85-run stand that pulled India A out of trouble and took them to a defendable total. Australia A started well too but Gurjapneet Singh (3-56), Yash Thakur (2-35) and Nishant Sindhu (2-42) nullified that.

Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh made a flying start after India A were asked to bat first. Fours and sixes came at the whim of the pair as they took the side to 82/0 in 10 overs. But in the next set of 10 overs, India wobbled wildly. Liam Scott dismissed Prabhsimran and Devdutt Padikkal in successive overs. Dwarshuis then had Arya nicking one behind for 49. India slipped to 118/5 in the 20th over.

Shedge first combined with his captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to pull India out of the quagmire. They did well for the next 57 deliveries, adding 41 runs before the 58th came with Ruturaj's name on it. The skipper chopped one one from Mitchell Owen to depart for 33. Then came the revival. Shedge found an able ally in Nigam as the pair added 85 off just 77 to take the side close to 250.

But once Nigam fell in the 43rd over, India A quickly folded in the 48th for 275.

Josh Philippe and Liam Scott gave their side a similarly strong start, albeit a touch slower, as they too added 82 for the first wicket. Nigam broke the stand by trapping the former leg before while Nishant Sindhu dismissed the latter in the following over. Two strong stands then ensued. First Lachlan Shaw and Nathan McSweeney added 58 and then the latter put on 38 with Nikhil Chaudhary. Anukul Roy had Shaw caught at extra cover while McSweeney became first of three wickets bagged by Gurjapneet. 177/4 in the 36th over became 209/7 in 43 overs, leaving the tail to chase 66 off the last 42 deliveries.

Gurjapneet quickly diffused that possibility by dismissing Mitchell Owen in the 44th over and then took out Tanveer Sangha in the 46th, pushing the visitors to the brink. Yash Thakur wrapped up the victory in the 47th over, as captain Todd Murphy hit one to Padikkal who ran in from long-on to complete a good catch.

Brief Scores: India A 275 in 47.3 overs (Suryansh Shedge 66, Priyansh Arya 49, Vipraj Nigam 40; Ben Dwarshuis 3-38, Will Sutherland 3-44, Liam Scott 2-26) beat Australia A 226 in 46.2 overs (Josh Philippe 56, Nathan McSweeney 39; Gurjapneet Singh 3-56, Yash Thakur 2-35, Nishant Sindhu 2-42) by 49 runs