Mishra and Ojha shine as India A's match ends in a draw

Chennai, July 25: Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha turned out to be the biggest gainer while comeback man Amit Mishra got 5 wickets and more importantly vital overs under his belt as the first unofficial 'Test' match between India A and Australia A ended in a tame draw.

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Chasing a target of 240, Australia A reached 161 for four in 46 overs when the umpires decided to call off the match after the two captains shook hands. For Ojha, a match haul of 6/132 (5/87 & 1/45) will do his confidence a world of good.

Mishra on his part bowled close to 40 overs across both innings and a return of 5 wickets could be considered a decent performance. This was former India captain Rahul Dravid's first match as India A coach.

Earlier, India A declared their first innings at 206 for eight, starting from their overnight score of 121 for three.

India today batted 32.3 overs as young Shreyas Iyer (33) again chipped in with a useful contribution while Karun Nair (23) failed once again.

Pacer Gurinder Sandhu (2/27) and part-time seamer Marcus Stoinis (2/17) were the most successful bowlers while left-arm spinner Steve O'Keefe took his match-haul to eight wickets with 2/81 in the second innings.

The next match, starting July 28, will feature Test captain Virat Kohli. He will in all likelihood replace Karun in the starting XI as he has failed in both innings.

PTI