India A chased down 412 in the second innings of their second four-day game against Australia A to win the series 1-0. Here’s how the India Test players, selected for the series against the West Indies, fared.
Hits
KL Rahul
Rahul played only the second 'Test' and made a quiet start, scoring 11 from 24 balls in the first innings. In the second, however, he led a seemingly improbable chase with an unbeaten 176, his first first-class century in India since 2016. The innings once more reinforced why his second coming in Test cricket has begun to outshine the struggles of his first.
Sai Sudharsan
Sudharsan crossed fifty in all three innings that he batted, and was arguably the best Indian batter on show. In the first game, he contributed a fine 73 off 124 balls, but the second Test displayed his temperament. Under conditions that had plenty of help for the quicks, and with moisture around, he stood tall for a 140-ball 75, in an innings where seven batters registered either a score of 0 or 1. In the second innings, he walked out at No.3 with the scorecard reading 85-1, and manoeuvred the innings well after Rahul had to walk off with a fever on day three. He scored 100 in 172 and was a massive hit in the series.
Devdutt Padikkal
Padikkal cashed in when the runs were there for the taking. In the first Test, he scored 150 off 281 balls, ensuring he got the selectors interested. He was unable to get going in the second Test, which was played under sterner conditions, but clearly did enough to be on the list.
Dhruv Jurel
Another impressive showing from Jurel after initially leaving a mark in his debut series against England at home last year. Jurel scored 140 in the first Test and then put together a counterattacking 56 in the run chase in the second, hitting three sixes to bring momentum into the innings.
Misses
Mohammed Siraj
Neither a hit nor a massive miss, Siraj struggled for rhythm in the first innings of the second game, his only match of the series. His 16 overs went for 94 runs, making him the most expensive in the innings, as Australia scored 420. He did come back drastically in the second, ending as the most economical bowler, with probing lines, and finished his nine overs for just 20 runs and two top-order wickets.
Nitish Kumar Reddy
Returning from injury for the second game, Reddy had an opportunity to stake a claim in the XI for the Windies Tests, where he may not feature, due to the team combination. He made 1 off 13 in the first innings and was unbeaten on 16 off 14 in the second. He also bowled nine overs across the game, going wicketless.
Narayan Jagadeesan
This was the opportunity for Jagadeesan to emerge as the first-choice backup opener-keeper, but he might be left ruing some missed chances. Jagadeesan scored 64 in the first Test and was the second top-scorer for India in the first innings of the second Test, with 38. While chasing over 400 in the second, he hung around for 55 balls, making 36. Overall, not bad, and he did get a place in the West Indies squad, but he could have done more.
Prasidh Krishna
Prasidh had to retire hurt while batting in the second Test and did not bowl in the second innings, but his bowling lacked penetration in the two innings he did bowl. In the first Test, without Siraj, he was the leader of the attack, but conceded 86 in 16 overs without getting a wicket. In the first innings of the second game, he did get one wicket, but was expensive again, going for 76 in 17.
*After a long stint in the India squad without a Test debut, Abhimanyu Easwaran was dropped for the West Indies series. He made only 44 runs in the only match he batted in, and even he would have known it would not be enough to regain a place back.
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