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ScorecardLiam Norwell rattled the start of Worcestershire’s second innings•Getty Images

Gloucestershire breathed life back into a match which appeared to be heading towards stalemate by declaring 75 runs behind on day three of the Specsavers County Championship clash at New Road.The visitors caused a surprise by pulling out at lunch on 364 for 6 after century-maker Graeme van Buuren and Craig Miles had figured in an unbroken partnership of 134 in 33.1 overs.Worcestershire then scored a four an over with skipper Daryl Mitchell making a return to form with a 57-ball half century.But wickets fell at regular intervals and when rain halted proceedings with 24 overs remaining, Worcestershire had reached 151 for 5 – a lead of 226.Worcestershire still harboured hopes at the start of the day of enforcing the follow on with Gloucestershire resuming on 226 for 5 – still requiring a further 64 to avoid that possibility.Spinner Brett D’Oliveira struck an early blow to trap Jack Taylor lbw in the first over of the morning. The second new ball was taken after three overs but Van Buuren, who yesterday completed his maiden Championship century, and Miles were untroubled in their partnership and scored freely.Van Buuren square cut Charlie Morris for four to bring up his 150 and Miles repeated the stroke at Ed Barnard’s expense to go to his half century – only the third of his career. Van Buuren continued on from his overnight 104 to make an unbeaten 172 from 307 balls with 21 fours while Miles was unbeaten on 60, two short of his career best.Worcestershire looked to build on their lead but their progress was checked by Liam Norwell during a lively opening spell. He trapped D’Oliveira lbw on the back foot and then dislodged Joe Clarke’s leg bail before he had scored after he had looked to work the ball through midwicket.Worcestershire skipper Daryl Mitchell responded by finding his touch with a fluent 57-ball half century before flicking Miles straight to Hamish Marshall at square leg.Gloucestershire struck two more blows after tea as first innings century-maker Tom Kohler-Cadmore shouldered arms and was bowled to give Norwell his third success. Alexei Kervezee had two escapes on five and 15 but after making 39 holed out to Jack Taylor at mid-on as Gloucestershire employed spin at both ends in the gloomy light. But the heavens opened shortly afterwards with the game evenly poised.

A half-century from Phoebe Litchfield trumped Sarah Glenn’s four-for to secure a win for Sydney Thunder over Brisbane Heat. Set 154 to chase, Heat never looked in contention to chase the target – they were reduced to 10 for 3, then 30 for 4, inside the first half of their innings.To add to Heat’s troubles, Chinelle Henry retired hurt on 10 after she was hit on the jaw by a Shabnim Ismail bouncer. Annie O’Neil provided some late impetus to the chase, scoring 33 off 21. She was caught off the last ball of the innings, giving Georgia Voll her second wicket and Thunder a 23-run win.Heat’s loss keeps them at the bottom of the table, having earned just one point – from an abandoned game – this year.Earlier in the evening, Thunder were victims of a collapse themselves: they were reduced to 33 for 4 right after the powerplay, and 93 for 6 by the 13th over. It was only thanks to Litchfield’s rear-guard effort – she hit eight fours and one six during her 43-ball stay at the crease – that Thunder recovered. She fell in the 17th over, after which, a boundary-laden 26 not out off 19 from Em Arlott took them past the 150-run mark.Heat’s Glenn took three of Thunder’s first four wickets, and finished with figures of 4 for 18 from her four overs. However, she ended up on the losing side.

The 2026 IPL auction will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. This will be the third successive year when the IPL auction is being held overseas. The 2024 auction in Dubai was the first time it was held overseas. The two-day mega auction for the 2025 season was held in Jeddah in November 2024.Like all mini auctions, the 2026 edition, too, will be a day-long exercise. Franchises have to first sort the list of players they want to release and retain from their 2025 squads, by 3pm IST on November 15. After that they will be sent a registered pool of players to shortlist. That long list will then be pruned for IPL to finalise the auction pool.The trading window, which opened after the 2025 season, will continue until a week before the auction and then resume to go on until a month prior to the IPL start date in 2026. The 10 franchises cannot trade a player who will be bought at the 2026 auction.So far there have been four confirmed trades among five teams. That includes the most high-profile player swap in IPL history which involved five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) getting Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals, who have traded in the allrounder pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.On Thursday, Mumbai Indians, also five-time champions, procured India allrounder Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford in all-cash deals from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for INR 2 crore and Gujarat Titans (GT) for INR 2.60 crore, respectively. In a separate trade, LSG got Arjun Tendulkar at his base price of INR 30 lakh from MI.The tentative window for IPL 2026 is March 15 to May 31.

What is the T10 Melbourne Invitational?

It is an 11-day T10 tournament that will be played at the Junction Oval in Melbourne between April 7 and April 17. Five teams will play 20 T10 matches with two matches held each day. The top three teams will play in the finals on April 17. The second and third ranked after the round robin will play first and the winner will advance to face the top ranked team in the final later on the same day.

Which teams are playing?

Melbourne Stars, Melbourne Renegades, Sydney Sixers, Sydney Thunder and Adelaide Strikers have selected academy squads of 12-15 players to play a minimum of four games across the 11 days. Stars and Renegades are run by Cricket Victoria who are hosting the tournament. Cricket New South Wales runs both Sydney teams while Adelaide Strikers are run by the South Australian Cricket Association. The tournament has been approved by Cricket Australia.Australia Under-19 star Oliver Peake will play for Renegades in the T10 Invitational•ICC/Getty Images

What is the purpose of the tournament?

Cricket Victoria, led by their chief executive Nick Cummins, has been adventurous in stepping into the franchise sphere beyond functioning as an Australian state association. CV runs the high performance aspect of the San Francisco Unicorns in Major League Cricket. Victoria also sent a team to the inaugural Global Super League in Guyana last year and made the final. Significantly, this T10 tournament has Indian backing and is broadcast into India.It is a forerunner to potentially hosting a T20 tournament that is akin to the T20 Max that is played in Queensland in August and September each year and has become a hub for fringe domestic players to get playing opportunities at the time of year. CV is also in the final phase of gaining approval to build light towers at the Junction Oval so that both international and domestic matches can be played there under lights. Such an addition would allow this tournament to be played at night, and in a better timezone for audiences in the subcontinent.

Are any big name player’s taking part?

There won’t be any big name Australian players representing their BBL clubs. Part of CV’s vision for the tournament is to provide extra playing opportunities for developing players beyond the Sheffield Shield, domestic 50-over cricket, the BBL and the Top End T20 series in the middle of the year.”This is a fantastic opportunity to continue providing important match experience to players right through to the end of the season,” Cummins said.One international name is Netherlands captain Scott Edwards who grew up in Melbourne and lives there part of the year. He has previously been a replacement player for Renegades in the BBL but has yet to play a BBL game for them.BBL regular Sam Harper will play for Melbourne Stars. Former Australian Under-19 players Harry Dixon and Oliver Peake will play for Renegades after making their BBL debuts last season. A number of Victoria players including Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, Sam Elliott and Xavier Crone are also set to feature while Sixers have selected Steve Waugh’s son Austin Waugh in their 12-man squad.

How can I watch?

The tournament can be watched in both Australia and India. It will be streamed in India via Fancode and can be viewed on Kayo in Australia, who stream all Australian domestic cricket and even some grade fixtures.

Squads

Adelaide Strikers Academy: Aidan Cahill, Hamish Case, Isaac Conway, Josh Kann, Ryan King, Harry Manenti, Deakin Murphy, Tim Oakley, Tom O’Connell, Hayden Schiller, Aubrey Stockdale, Jerrssis Wadia, Jake WinterMelbourne Renegades Academy: Harry Dixon, Dylan Brasher, Oliver Peake, Arjun Nair, Jai Lemire, Scott Edwards, Xavier Crone, Aryan Sharma, Jackson Smith, Michael Archer, Cam McClure, David Moody, Harkirat Bajwa, Mitch Jamieson, Aidam NadeemMelbourne Stars Academy: Austin Anlezark, Max Birthisel, Liam Blackford, Sam Elliott, Sam Harper, Harry Hoekstra, Christian Howe, Campbell Kellaway, Blake Macdonald, Reiley Mark, Jonathan Merlo, Tom Rogers, Douglas WarrenSydney Thunder Academy: Ryan Hicks, Toby Gray, Bailey Abela, Charlie Anderson, Yuvraj Sharma, Riley Kingsell, Peter Francis, Angus McTaggart, Blake Nikitaras, Riley Ayre, Connor O’Riordan, Liam DoddrellSydney Sixers Academy: Brock Fitton, Harjas Singh, Tristan Kennedy, Addison Sherriff, Austin Waugh, John James, Lachlan Shaw, Connor Cook, Jake Scott, Joel Davies, Ryan Gupta, Oliver Patterson

Former England batter Dawid Malan scored a classy 98 through the heart of the day as Yorkshire enjoyed a healthy start to their Rothesay County Championship clash with Worcestershire at Headingley.Malan contributed 12 fours and a six in 133 balls to a close of play 425 for 8 from 96 overs. He steadied a brief home wobble after lunch which included Jonny Bairstow being unfortunate to be caught behind for 7.An Adam Finch short ball seemed to brush Bairstow’s stomach rather than his glove on its way through to wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick, though umpire Mark Newell viewed it differently. The home captain cut an astonished figure as he left the field.At that stage, Yorkshire were 179 for 4 in the 48th over, including opener Adam Lyth’s 67. Worcestershire made an errant start with the ball but improved, though not enough to turn the day in their favour. New Zealand quick Jacob Duffy mirrored his side’s day. He improved markedly to finish with three wickets.George Hill also contributed 63, while four other seamers struck once apiece.This is a clash between a Yorkshire side who lost their opener at Hampshire last weekend and a Worcestershire side who batted out the final 200 overs for a draw at Somerset.Worcester captain Brett D’Oliveira opted to bowl first on a green-tinged pitch with good pace and carry, but they were slow starters as the hosts reached 49 without loss after 10 overs.Lyth shared 55 with opening partner Fin Bean, who was caught at third slip off Tom Taylor for 19.Left-hander Lyth then shared 68 through to early afternoon with second-wicket partner James Wharton, whose eye-catching 44 saw him drive handsomely and take four fours off one Taylor over.Worcestershire tightened up as the morning progressed and eroded Yorkshire’s position of strength during the first half of the afternoon, the White Rose falling from 123 for 1 in the 35th over to 179 for 4 in the 48th.Wharton edged Duffy (3 for 114 in 18 overs) behind – undone by extra bounce and away movement – before Lyth miscued an expansive pull at Matthew Waite’s bustling seam to deep backward square-leg.And when Bairstow fell controversially to Finch, Worcestershire had an opening.However, they encountered Malan in dominant form, including a slog-swept six over deep midwicket off Kashif Ali’s leg-spin.By then, Malan – in only his second first-class match since July 2023 having opted to step away from the red-ball game for a year – had reached his fifty off 66 balls.Yorkshire have some quality batters on their books, including the likes of Joe Root and Harry Brook, who will likely feature at some point during the opening two months of the county summer.But when Malan is on song, he is a match for any of them. He just makes batting look so easy. That six came in the over before tea, where he reached at 75 not out in 270 for 4.Hill edged a swish at Ben Allison behind in the early stages of the evening before the part-time off-spin of Jake Libby ousted Will Luxton, caught at deep midwicket on the slog sweep for 25, with the total on 339 in the 80th over.Duffy then had Malan caught at second slip with the second ball of the 82nd over, the first with the new ball, as Yorkshire fell to 345 for 7.The same bowler also trapped Dom Bess lbw, but Waite was still the standout Worcester bowler with figures of 1 for 53 from 15 overs.If those late wickets provided any doubt over the direction of the day, Jordan Thompson swayed things very much in Yorkshire’s favour with a quick-fire 48 not out from 43 balls. He dominated an unbroken 65 stand for the ninth wicket with Ben Coad (22).

“I missed a full toss. It wasn’t ideal.” This is one of the greatest contemporary batters speaking on a moment that swung the match away from his team.Steven Smith was batting on 73 in the 37th over against India, and seemed set to guide Australia into the death overs. Then he ran at Mohammed Shami, got a full toss at around knee-height, and missed it completely. The off stump was rattled.From there, Australia got 66 runs off the 75 balls available to them. Alex Carey hit 61 off 57, batting with the tail in the later stages. Nathan Ellis tried to crash some late boundaries. But if you are looking for a moment in the match that paved the way for India’s dominance, this is a big one.Related

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“My plan was to try and put the seamers under a bit more pressure, and just rotate the spin,” Smith said after the match. “But I didn’t do it very well. I lost my wicket at probably a crucial stage. Had I batted a little deeper, we could have potentially got up to near 300 or something. Alex was batting really nicely at the other end. It was a disappointing time to get out, but that’s the game sometimes.”Australia only set India 265 for victory. But given this was likely the most batting-friendly surface at this venue for the whole tournament, Smith rued the chance to go big.”I think we had our opportunities throughout to post something up above 300,” Smith said. “We were probably just that one wicket down too many at a few stages throughout the innings. If we extended one of those partnerships a little bit, we’re probably getting up to 290 to 300 and we’re putting a bit of pressure on the scoreboard.Steven Smith was bowled by a full toss•Associated Press

“The square block as a whole, I think, has seen a lot of cricket over the last couple of months. We can see it’s pretty tired and that’s probably the reason why we haven’t seen a score above 300 in the tournament here so far. So we did a reasonable job, but we probably just lacked a couple of those partnerships just dragging out a little bit further.”Australia were also poor in the field. They dropped Rohit Sharma twice, and Virat Kohli was put down on 51. All of these were tough chances, though.”I think when you’re trying to squeeze the game and you’re trying to build a lot of pressure, you need to take those chances when you’ve got 260 [264] on the board,” Smith said. “But that’s the game, it happens. No one means to drop a catch. It’s part of the game.”

Chittagong Kings captain Mohammad Mithun praised his opposite number Mehidy Hasan Miraz after the latter called back Tom O’Connell, who had been dismissed timed out during their BPL match against Khulna Tigers in Dhaka on Tuesday.O’Connell, the Australian legspinner, walked out to bat after the allocated three minutes were up during Chittagong’s chase of 204. Mehidy, the fielding captain, went to the umpire along with several of his team-mates to ask about the delay.The umpires, Raveendra Wimalasiri and Tanvir Ahmed, adjudged O’Connell to be out. As O’Connell started to trudge back to the dugout, Mehidy called him back.Related

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Mithun accepted that the dismissal was legitimate, and said that O’Connell had been taken by surprise as the wickets fell quickly, and he didn’t have enough time to get ready despite batting at No. 7.”I personally feel Miraz did a fantastic job,” Mithun said. “He showed that he has a big heart. It is within the rules for the fielding side to appeal. Credit to Miraz for letting [O’Connell] return to the crease.”The batter shouldn’t be late to the crease, particularly in a T20. He was a little late in getting ready. Probably he was a little relaxed when he was getting ready, maybe he didn’t realise that we would lose wickets so quickly. That’s what made him late. Nothing else.”O’Connell’s turn to bat came when Pakistani batter Haider Ali fell for a second-ball duck. Chittagong were 56 for 5 in the seventh over at that stage. After the timed-out drama, however, O’Connell himself fell for a golden duck, caught at short midwicket where Mehidy took the simple catch off Mohammad Nawaz’s bowling.Khulna went on to beat Chittagong by 37 runs.

Amir Jangoo’s unbeaten 104 and Keacy Carty’s 95 helped West Indies scale a 322-run chase against Bangladesh in St Kitts. They won the series 3-0 after Jangoo became the first West Indian in 46 years to score a century on ODI debut. He guided the side with two rapid partnerships. It is also the fourth time that West Indies successfully chased a 300-plus target in ODIs.Jangoo added 132 runs for the fifth wicket with Carty, and after West Indies lost two wickets in quick succession, he combined with Gudakesh Motie for an unbroken 91-run partnership for the seventh wicket to take them home. Motie remained unbeaten on 44 off 31 balls, hitting three sixes and as many fours. Jangoo’s innings was resplendent with six fours and four sixes.Related

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Bangladesh had posted 321 for 5 on the back of four fifties. Mahmudullah and Jaker Ali added 150 runs in an unbroken sixth-wicket stand, a Bangladesh record. Bangladesh also struck 12 sixes in the innings, their second most in ODIs.Brandon King picked up where he had left off in the second ODI, cracking two fours and a six off Nasum Ahmed in the second over of the chase. His innings, however, was cut short in the same over after a mix-up with his opening partner Alick Athanaze over a non-existent run. Athanaze himself did not last long, getting yorked by Nasum in his next over.Keacy Carty was instrumental in the chase•Randy Brooks

Hasan Mahmud then had Shai Hope caught at slip for three before Sherfane Rutherford and Carty stabilised the innings with a 55-run fourth-wicket stand. Taskin Ahmed dealt West Indies a further blow when he dismissed Rutherford for 30.Carty, though, was steady at the other end, already having struck two fours. Afif dropped him on 22 before Carty went after the Bangladesh spinners in the middle overs. He struck Rishad Hossain for consecutive fours in the 18th over, before hammering Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a six and a four in the 21st over. Jangoo hit Nasum for three fours in a short span before lofting Afif for his first six.It was in the 34th over that Bangladesh, perhaps, let the game slip. Jangoo had miscued one off Rishad, only to see substitute fielder Parvez Hossain Emon drop the chance while running back ffrom mid-off. Rishad did dismiss Carty next ball, with Soumya taking a low catch at point, but Jangoo’s miss came back to haunt them.Immediately after Roston Chase’s dismissal, Jangoo slogged Mehidy for his second six, before Motie and Jangoo struck Mahmud for a six each in the 43rd over. They struck one four each in the following over bowled by Taskin, before the pair completed the chase.Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Soumya Sarkar added 136 runs for the third wicket•Randy Brooks

The day could have belonged to Bangladesh given how they batted. After a disastrous start, having lost both Tanzid Hasan and Litton Das in the third over to be reduced to 9 for 2, Soumya and Mehidy resurrected the innings with a 136-run stand for the third wicket. Alzarri Joseph hurried Tanzid with a bouncer with the left-hander top-edging a pull. Litton’s horror run in ODIs continued when he edged a wide one to King at first slip.Mehidy was positive from the outset, hitting five boundaries in the powerplay. Soumya, who was dropped on nought, opened up after the powerplay. He played the upper-cut against Romario Shepherd for a six, before pasting Chase and Motie for a six each in consecutive overs.Shortly after Soumya was dropped for a second time, on 45 by Jangoo, Mehidy struck debutant Jediah Blades for a four a six. Soumya added a four to take 16 runs off the over, before getting two more fours off his next. Soumya was on a roll when he struck Motie for his fourth six, but fell next ball when the left-arm spinner trapped him in front. Soumya’s 73 came at a run a ball, including six fours and four sixes.Six overs after Soumya’s dismissal, Rutherford’s accurate throw from point found Mehidy short at the striker’s end as he fell for 77 off 73 balls. Rutherford then had Afif Hossain caught at the midwicket boundary for 15, as Bangladesh again lost two wickets in quick succession.But Jaker and Mahmudullah dominated the end overs. After having added 96 in the first ODI, they bettered it this time. After Jaker struck his first two fours, Mahmudullah crashed Motie down the ground for his first six, before hitting Chase for his second, over long-off.Jaker joined the party when he slammed Shepherd over cover and then Mahmudullah dragged Rutherford from outside off over square-leg for six. Bangladesh scored 59 runs in the last four overs to push their total past 320, but it was not enough on the day.

India captain Rohit Sharma has admitted after a forgettable and India’s first ever 3-0 whitewash at home that he was “not at my best” as both captain and batter, and that his team “failed as a unit” because they made “lots of mistakes.”Chasing 147 to get any possible WTC points from a series already conceded, India crashed and burned to 121 all out against the spin of Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips.”Definitely, you know, something like this will be a very low point in my career, you know, having lost three games at home,” Rohit said at the post-match press conference. “And, yes, we, I fully take the responsibility for that as a captain and as a leader as well. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. And yeah, with the bat as well, I’ve not been good enough.”Related

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For a while, when Rishabh Pant was counterattacking with a 57-ball 64, there was hope for the hosts. But before that it was 29 for 5, and after Pant fell, to a contentious third-umpire’s decision, it all unravelled quite quickly. Rohit looked back on the series as a whole and felt let down by his own decision making.”Right from the start, I said it. You know, I made a decision about batting first on that Bangalore pitch, which was not right,” he said. “And certain tactical errors also, which didn’t go my way. You obviously take chances with those decisions. Sometimes it comes off. Sometimes it doesn’t. And this time around, it didn’t come off, the certain decisions that I took. So, yeah, I was not at my best of my leadership. And probably cost us the series as well.”Rohit’s poor series coincided with an excellent one for Tom Latham – who assumed full-time captaincy of the team just last month – and his men.”New Zealand played better than us throughout the series,” he said at the presentation. “There were lots of mistakes that we made throughout the series, and we have to accept it.Virat Kohli has also been going through a lull•AFP/Getty Images

“The first and the second Test, we didn’t put enough runs on the board in the first innings. And we were very much behind the game. This game, we got that 30 [28]-runs lead and we felt that we were a little bit ahead of the game. That target was chaseable. All we had to do was a little bit of application, which we failed to do as a unit.”Questions about Rohit’s own batting form have been cropping up this series. Apart from a 52 in the second innings of the first Test in Bengaluru, he has managed scores of 2, 0, 8, 18 and 11. On ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar also spoke about Rohit’s captaincy, and what he called T20 tactics in a Test match.In this chase in Mumbai, Rohit hit two fours in a run-a-ball 11, but fell when he couldn’t get his favourite shot – the pull – right against Matt Henry.”Look, when you’re chasing a target like that, you want runs on the board as well. And that is something that was there in my mind,” Rohit said. “It just didn’t come off. When it doesn’t come off, it doesn’t look that great. There are certain ideas, certain methods that I go into bat with. Sometimes it doesn’t come off, and this series it hasn’t come off, which I am very disappointed with.”The other senior batter in the side – Virat Kohli (93 runs in six innings) – has also been going through a lull, which has forced a need for serious introspection. India will be facing the reigning Test match champions Australia in just over two weeks’ time.”Obviously, it’s [his and Kohli’s lack of runs] a cause of concern without a doubt,” Rohit said. “If the batters are not performing, that is a cause of concern. But what’s done is done now. I think as a player, as a captain, as a team, we all have to look forward and see how we can correct what we didn’t manage to achieve here. There is a good opportunity for us to go and do something really, really special in Australia.”But right now, it’s just trying to understand what we didn’t do right [against New Zealand], what are the things that we need to do better as a team. We made a lot of mistakes, so I think those mistakes need to be addressed and something that we will talk about. And then moving forward, when you land in Australia, I think it’s important to just focus on that particular series, the first Test match. You know, it’s a five Test match series, so it’s important to break down those Test series, those Test matches and focus on one Test and then just take it from there.”As always, there were positives. In the batting department as well, where the younger players – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, and Washington Sundar showed, at various points, that runs could be scored on tough pitches.”Those guys showed how to bat on these surfaces,” Rohit said about the younger lot. “You have to be slightly ahead, and be proactive when you’re playing on a pitch like that. Which we all know. Which we have discussed many a time in the last three or four years. We are aware of what we need to do. It’s just that, this was an unfortunate series where it didn’t come off. We tried to do certain things, it didn’t come off. Which is why we lagged behind in the series.”

Stumps After the first day’s spotlight shone firmly on Australia’s Test hopefuls, India Test squad member Abhimanyu Easwaran and reserve Mukesh Kumar had contrasting fortunes before B Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal led an India A fightback on day two in Mackay.Trailing by 88 runs on the first innings, India stared down the barrel at 30 for 2 after the wickets of skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhimanyu. But Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal steadied the ship with an unbroken 178-run partnership as batting became easier on a surface that flattened out as the day wore on.They learned the lessons from India A’s disastrous first innings of 107 when a number of batters nicked off. Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal demonstrated patience and judged the full lengths well as they closed in on centuries. They waited to pick off the bowling, which was more wayward than on the opening day.Both batters used their feet well to offspinner Todd Murphy, who did not threaten and had figures of none for 54 from 17 overs. His struggles reared just before stumps when a delivery slipped from his fingers and landed near the square leg umpire.Devdutt Padikkal scored 80 in an unbroken 178-run stand with B Sai Sudharsan•Getty Images

It was a terrific recovery from India A after the wickets of Gaikwad and Abhimanyu, who each had double failures for the match. Gaikwad could only tentatively poke at a length delivery from quick Fergus O’Neill and edged to second slip where Cameron Bancroft demonstrated why he is one of the country’s best fielders, with a sharp catch low to the ground.Abhimanyu is seen as a contender to play in the early part of the Test series given the uncertainty over Rohit Sharma. But he was all at sea against the new ball with O’Neill producing rampant movement.Abhimanyu was fortunate to have survived on 2 after edging quick Jordan Buckingham to third slip only for the delivery to be deemed a no-ball. The pressure was building on Abhimanyu, who attempted to play more positively and also scampered for tight singles on a couple of occasions. But he pushed his luck after dashing off for a quick run only for the athletic Buckingham at midwicket to throw down the stumps leaving the diving batter just short of his ground.India’s recovery appeared to have had a setback when Padikkal on 31 drove O’Neill straight to Nathan McSweeney at short extra-cover only for the delivery to be called a no-ball.Cooper Connolly played positively, hitting five fours in his 37•Getty Images

Padikkal had medical treatment on his legs late in the day, but fought through as India A eyed setting a tough target with the focus soon to shift once again to those Australia A batters hoping to partner Usman Khawaja in the first Test.India A’s revival was started by Mukesh. He bowled unwavering spells and nipped the ball both ways to finish with 6 for 46, while quick Prasidh Krishna unfurled canny changes of pace, which has served him well in white-ball cricket, to claim a three-wicket haul.Australia A resumed their first innings at 99 for 4, trailing by just eight runs, with skipper McSweeney having a golden opportunity to boost his bid for first Test selection. McSweeney had survived through to stumps on a madcap day one after the early dismissals of Test candidates Bancroft, Sam Konstas and Marcus Harris.He once again showcased dogged defence and good judgment to leave deliveries outside his off stump. After a slow start to the day’s play, it took 17 deliveries until the first runs were scored when Cooper Connolly flayed a boundary through the off side.Connolly, 21, decided to counter-attack and quickly passed McSweeney after smashing 22 runs in an eight-ball whirlwind. His ability to shift gears is a reason why Connolly has risen in the ranks quickly and is seen as a contender for the Test tour of Sri Lanka early next year.Mukesh Kumar finished with innings figures of 6 for 46•Getty Images

In a contrast to many batters so far in this match, Connolly drove with ease and underlined why in Western Australian cricket circles he has been compared favourably to former Test batter Shaun Marsh. He appeared set for his fourth half-century from six innings in his first-class career before a tame dismissal on 37 when he mistimed a delivery from Mukesh to square-leg.It led to the quick wickets of Josh Philippe and McSweeney, whose dedication to defence was finally broken when he was caught at gully after being lured into driving a full delivery from Nitish Kumar Reddy.Reddy was able to find late movement that deceived McSweeney to highlight an impressive performance of 1 for 14 from seven overs.Australia A led by just 29 runs at the fall of McSweeney’s wicket before Murphy hit a breezy 33 to frustrate India A. It was left to Mukesh to finally wrap up the innings as he clean bowled Brendan Doggett for his fifth wicket and then picked up Murphy – who was the fourth batter in the innings to fall in the 30s.