Samarth, Easwaran keep India 'A' in hunt

India 'A' produced a collective performance to stay in the hunt against Australia 'A' on the second day of the second four-day game here at the Alur ground on Sunday.

Openers R Samarth and Abhimanyu Easwaran put on a century stand after chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav's five-wicket haul helped the hosts bundle out the visitors for 346.

Samarth (83) and Easwaran (86) stitched 174 runs for the first wicket to guide India 'A' to 223 for three in 70 overs in the first innings.

India 'A' still trail their opponents by 123 runs.

Earlier, Kuldeep (5/91) ran through Australia A's tail as he sent back Chris Tremlin (16), Mitchell Swepson (4) and Brendan Doggett (8) in quick succession to restrict the visitors under 350.

Apart from Kuldeep, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (3/90) picked up three wickets.

Wickets kept tumbling from one end and captain Mitchell Marsh remained stranded on unbeaten 113 off 204 balls. The all-rounder, who returned to action after recovering from an ankle injury, slammed 16 fours and one six.

India 'A' got off to a solid start, with Samarth and Easwaran looking in control. Just when they looked set for centuries, Samarth was trapped in front by Ashton Agar. Easwaran then was involved in a mix up to depart run out.

Samarth, who was battling poor form, finally made a mark. He consumed 126 balls and struck eight fours in his fine knock. Easwaran, who was one of the leading run scorer for Bengal in the previous edition of the Ranji Trophy, collected 10 fours and played 165 balls.

Ankit Bawne, the man in form, didn't last long as he could manage just 13. The right-hand batsman was caught by Matt Renshaw off Mitchell Sweepson as Shreyas Iyer's men were reduced to 217 for three.

Shreyas, who is due for a big one, was unbeaten on 30, having struck four boundaries. Shubman Gill was giving him company.

Brief scores: Australia 'A': 346 all out in 109 overs (Kurtis Patterson 48, Travis Head 68, Mitchell Marsh 113, Michael Nesser 44; Kuldeep Yadav 5-91, Shahbaz Nadeem 3-90) vs India 'A': 223/3 in 70 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 86, R Samarth 83).