Gaikwad dismissed for a golden duck, Ishan disappoints; Easwaran and Nitish struggle as India A collapse against Australia A in Test call-ups

India A faced a calamitous collapse in their first innings on Day 1 of the ongoing first unofficial Test match against Australia A at Mackay's Great Barrier Reef Arena on Thursday. Brendan Doggett was the hero for Australia, claiming six wickets as India A crumbled to a mere 107 runs.

Only Sai Sudharsan (21), Devdutt Padikkal (36) and Navdeep Saini (23) got double digit scores as the rest were removed with ease. The likes of Abhimanyu Easwaran (7), Ruturaj Gaikwad (0), Indrajith (9), Ishan Kishan (4), Nitish Reddy (0), Mnav Suthar (1), Prasidh Krishna (0) and Mukesh Kumar (4) were dismissed for single-digit scores.

The first innings was a huge setback to the Indian camp, as two uncapped players picked for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Easwaran and Nitish, failed to impress.

Australia won the toss and opted to bowl. The match began with right-arm pacer Jordan Buckingham removing openers Easwaran and Gaikwad with ease. Then Doggett destroyed the Indian batting-order, running riot.

It looked Sudharsan was trying to lead a fightback, but Doggett removed him too, before removing Kishan, who was also making his comeback. The match is also a screener for all-rounder Nitish, but he was dismissed for a six-ball duck by Doggett.

The performances of Easwaran and Reddy could raise concerns about their readiness for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Their batting displays were disappointing and the pair will be hoping to bounce back and lead a fightback against Australia. Meanwhile, the Aussies will look to build on their momentum and cement their domination.

Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar

Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, Nathan McSweeney (c), Beau Webster, Cooper Connolly, Josh Philippe (wk), Fergus O’Neill, Todd Murphy, Brendan Doggett, Jordan Buckingham