Mohammed Siraj's Eight-Wicket Haul Gives India A Control Over Australia A

Right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj's devastating eight-wicket haul overshadowed Usman Khawaja's 127 as India A gained upper hand on the opening day of the first four-day match against Australia A at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Opting to bat, Australia got off to a solid start before Siraj, who returned 8 for 59, took over and dashed the visiting side for 243 in 75.3 overs. In total, only four Australian batsmen made more than five runs. At stumps, India were 41 without loss in 12 overs, still trailing by 202 runs, with Ravikumar Samarth and Mayank Agarwal unbeaten on 10 and 31 respectively.

Australian openers Khawaja and Kurtis Patterson added 78 runs for the first wicket before the latter was knocked over for 31. Each of Travis Head (4), Peter Handscomb (nought) and captain Mitchell Marsh (nought), who would like to see themselves on the flight to UAE for the Test series against Pakistan, failed to impress the selectors and fell to Siraj.

The team reduced to 90 for 4, Khawaja finally found an able ally in Marnus Labuschagne. The two put on 114 runs for the fourth wicket and helped their team get back on track.

Siraj then once again came to India's rescue as the 24-year-old dismissed Labuschagne for 60, studded with 11 fours.

Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav (2 for 63), who was dropped from the national side that is currently involved in a Test series against England, too joined the party with a couple of wickets.

While wickets kept falling at the other end, Khawaja remained solid and brought up his maiden first-class century in India. He was the last man out, becoming Siraj's eighth victim. The left-hander survived for 228 deliveries and hit 20 fours. With this knock, Khawaja, who averages 14.62 in nine innings in subcontinent, has now almost cemented his place for the UAE tour.

In reply, the home team had 12 overs to see off, but Agarwal batted with positive intent and smashed seven fours before curtains were drawn for the first day's play.