India 'A' back on track after loss

India ‘A’ coach Rahul Dravid has credited sheer hard work and tough net sessions for his team’s emphatic turnaround in the quadrangular tournament in Australia

Townsville: India ‘A’ coach Rahul Dravid has credited sheer hard work and tough net sessions for his team’s emphatic turnaround in the quadrangular tournament in Australia. 

Sanju Samson hit a 43-ball 55

After being skittled for 55 in the opening match, India A batsmen put on a batting clinic to score 305 before bowling out the National Performance Squad (NPS) for 219. India’s victory margin of 86 runs also yielded them a bonus point and took them ahead of NPS, South Africa ‘A’ and Australia ‘A’ on the points table.

Dravid told mid-day, “Last Sunday was disappointing. To be fair the wicket did a bit in the morning and we seemed to nick everything. 

“There is so much ability in the team and they really used the sessions leading into games to get more exposure to these conditions.” But yesterday, the Indian top order batted with more assurance as they dictated terms against the inexperienced NPS bowling attack. Karun Nair scored a fine 71 at the top, while Shreyas Iyer (45) and Kedar Jadhav (45) knuckled down through the middle overs to lay the platform for the lower-order.

Good track
“To be fair, the wicket was at its best today. It has been a difficult wicket to start off in the day. One of the things we had spoken about was the starts we had but apart from Manish (Pandey), nobody kicked on. I’m glad to see three or four batsmen get a decent score,” said Dravid.

But the crucial innings of the day came from Sanju Samson. He hammered 54 from 43 balls to propel India to a score of 305.

While it was the batting that stood out on the day, Dravid believed it was the bowlers who have been impressive in the tournament.

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