Australia A beat India A by 125 runs in first unofficial ODI in Puducherry
Australia A beat India A by 125 runs in the first unofficial ODI, led by Nathan McSweeney's 123 and Mahli Beardman's 4 for 23.
Australia A defeated India A by 125 runs in the first unofficial ODI in Puducherry on Tuesday. Nathan McSweeney scored 123 and Will Sutherland made 77 as Australia A posted 274. Mahli Beardman took 4 for 23 on his return from a back stress injury.
India A were bowled out for 149 in reply. Rajat Patidar scored a fifty but the rest of the batting failed to build partnerships. McSweeney and Sutherland added 141 for the sixth wicket to turn the innings around after Australia A had slipped to 5 for 87.
Beardman is playing his third match since returning from injury. He said he was working to get back over 140kph and increase his red-ball workload. The second unofficial ODI is scheduled for October 9.
CricHubb Take
Beardman's figures on return suggest that Australia's fast-bowling depth is being rebuilt through players who can sustain pace across formats rather than white-ball specialists alone.