India A vs Australia A - 1st unofficial Test: Hosts in lead after record 371-run partnership between Marsh and Whiteman
Stumps – Day 3: After India A ended day 2 on a high, riding on a remarkable double century from Naman Ojha and accounting for 6 Aussie batsmen for just 126, the visitors were on the receiving end of a hammering on day 3 from the Western Australian pair of Mitchell Marsh and Sam Whiteman. Joining hands when Australia A were struggling at 99/6 on Day 2, the left-right combination added a 371-run 7th wicket partnership to guide Australia to a 47-run lead when the umpires signalled the end of third day.
The pair during the course of their partnership registered the second highest partnership for the 7th wicket in all first-class matches worldwide and highest in Australia. They batted through two complete session preying upon the Indian bowlers. The highest partnership for 7th wicket remains the 460-run stand between Bhupinder Singh Junior and Pankaj Dharmani for Punjab against Delhi in the semifinal of 1994-95 Ranji Trophy.
When the wicket-keeper batsmen Whiteman was finally dismissed for 174 (26 fours and 1 six), the pair had already placed the team just 5 runs short of Indian side’s first innings score of 475 for 9 dec. It was Whiteman’s first hundred in first-class cricket.
Mitchell Marsh was the last of the three wicket to fall on the last session for 211, as he attempted a quick single to get back to the strike and was unfortunately run out. The all-rounder blasted 10 sixes and 21 boundaries in his innings that lasted 294 balls. His second first-class hundred, this was also Marsh’s first double hundred in this format.
The good news for the Marsh-Whiteman pair was that coach Darren Lehmann was present in the stands as a selector and would have noticed their potential.
The 10th wicket pair added 18 runs before the close of play that saw Indian bowlers suffer throughout the day. Jasprit Bumrah added one more wicket to his three day 2 wickets. His figures read 4-128 from 38 overs. The left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha conceded 4.65 runs an over as he became the easy target to prey upon in the deck that suited became easier to bat on after day 1.
Brief Scores:
Australia A 522/9 (Marsh 211, Whiteman 174, Bumrah 4/124) lead India A 475/9 dec (Ojha 219*, Tiwary 83, Boyce 4/146) by 47 runs