Rayudu sparkles in drawn tie

Right-hander narrowly misses ton as Board Presidents XI make gritty reply

Ambati Rayudu struck a fluent 87 while Jammu and Kashmir youngster Parveez Rasool showed his all-round prowess with an useful batting contribution as the two-day warm-up match between Board President’s XI and Australia ended in a tame draw here on Wednesday.

After Australia were all-out for 241 on Tuesday, the Board President’s XI were dismissed for 230 in 68.3 overs at the Guru Nanak College ground.

With a result out of question, Australians came out to bat and scored 15 for no loss in their second essay before the stumps were drawn.

For the Board President’s XI, Rayudu top-scored with 87 while Rasool, riding high on his seven-wicket haul on Tuesday chipped in with a handy contribution of 36.

Rayudu, fresh from his 156 in the recently concluded Irani Cup game against Mumbai, looked confident from the start but did not get much support from the other top-order batsmen as the home team slumped to 132 for six.

It was Rasool, who joined Rayudu at this stage to resurrect the innings with a 67-run partnership for the seventh wicket.

Rasool normally bats at No 4 for his state side Jammu and Kashmir but due to presence of India hopefuls and senior first-class players, he was sent in at No 8 and he showed why he has scored nearly 600 runs in the just-concluded Ranji season.

While Rayudu hit nine boundaries and three sixes in his 150-ball knock, ‘birthday boy’ Rasool faced 54 balls hitting four boundaries and a six in the process.

For Australia, all-rounder Moises Henriques bowled superbly to take four for 12 in only 9.3 overs while offie Nathan Lyon was able to scalp three wickets although he did get some stick from both Rayudu and Rasool.

Some of the fringe players like openers Abhinav Mukund (21), Robin Uthappa (24) and glovesman Parthiv Patel (23) got starts but could not convert them into a big score.

Mukund and especially Uthappa started off in a positive fashion adding 37 runs for the opening stand before the latter’s impetuosity cost him dearly.

He was out trying to hit off-spinner Nathan Lyon caught by Glenn Maxwell.

Rasool and Rayudu stayed at the wicket for 19 overs scoring runs at an average of 3.52. They were cautious to begin with but whenever they got an opportunity, they punished the loose deliveries.

Rayudu used his feet to the spinners. Both Lyon and leggie Steve Smith got a taste of Rayudu’s footwork. Seeing his senior partner attacking the bowling, Rasool also grew in confidence and started taking on the bowlers.