Suryansh Shedge, Vipraj Nigam star as India A secure consolation win

India A secured a 49-run consolation victory over Australia A in the third and final match of the official ODI series in Puducherry thanks to a revival of lower-order batting and some tight bowling.

Suryansh Shedge was the best batter for the home team, scoring a crucial 66 out of 60 at No. 7. He and Vipraj Nigam completed an 85-run partnership to rescue India A from trouble and raise their total to a level that could be defended. Australia A also got off to a good start, but that was overturned by Gurjapneet Singh (3-56), Yash Thakur (2-25), and Nishant Sindhu (2-42).

After India A was asked to bat first, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh got off to a flying start. They took the team to 82/0 in 10 overs with fours and sixes at their whim. But in the next set of 10 overs, India wobbled wildly. In consecutive outs, Liam Scott struck out Prabhsimran and Devdutt Padikkal. After that, Dwarshuis had Arya stealing one from behind for 49. India fell to 118/5 in the twenty-first over.

Shedge first combined with his captain Ruturaj Gaikwad to pull India out of the quagmire. They performed well for the next 57 deliveries, scoring 41 runs before the 58th delivery bearing Ruturaj's name arrived. To leave for 33, the skipper hit Mitchell Owen with a one-on-one. The revival came then. Nigam proved to be an able partner for Shedge, who added 85 off just 77 to bring the side close to 250.

India A collapsed for 275 in the 48th over after Nigam fell in the 43rd over.

Josh Philippe and Liam Scott also added 82 for the first wicket, giving their team a similar strong start, albeit a little slower. Nigam broke the stand by trapping the former leg before while Nishant Sindhu dismissed the latter in the following over. Then came two strong positions. Lachlan Shaw and Nathan McSweeney added 58, followed by 38 from Nathan McSweeney and Nikhil Chaudhary. Shaw was caught at extra cover by Anukul Roy, and McSweeney became the first of Gurjapneet's three wickets. From 177/4 in the 36th over to 209/7 in 43 overs, the tail had to chase 66 off the final 42 deliveries.

That possibility was quickly dispelled by Gurjapneet, who struck out Mitchell Owen in the 44th over and Tanveer Sangha in the 46th, bringing the visitors to their knees. In the 47th over, captain Todd Murphy hit a shot to Padikkal, who ran in from long on to make a good catch, giving Yash Thakur the victory.