Dominant Australia A clinch rain-affected clash to level series

Jack Edwards led a fine bowling performance before Australia A's top-order came up with a power-packed show as the visitors won the rain-hit second one-dayer in Kanpur by 9 wickets to level the three-match series. Tilak Varma top-scored with 94 while Riyan Parag struck a brisk 58. But India A lost wickets regularly and folded for 246, with Edwards bagging a four-wicket haul. Following a rain-interruption, Australia A's target was revised to 160 in 25 overs and they only needed 16.4 overs to get over the line, with Mackenzie Harvey and Cooper Connolly's fifties powering the chase.

Opting to bat, India A were rocked early as Abhishek Sharma fell for a golden duck to Jack Edwards and Prabhsimran Singh followed soon after, dismissed by Will Sutherland for 1. Edwards then struck a major blow by bowling skipper Shreyas Iyer for 8, leaving the hosts in deep trouble at 17/3 in the sixth over. Riyan Parag and Tilak Varma staged a recovery with a century stand, with Parag registering a half-century. But his dismissal to Sutherland opened the door again, and Edwards extended his impact by removing Nishant Sindhu cheaply.

Tilak brought up a fighting fifty, but the lack of support from the other end hurt India A's momentum, with Lachlan Hearne trapping Suryansh Shedge leg-before to reduce the home side to 136/6. Harshit Rana briefly lifted the tempo with a 13-ball 21 that included two sixes, but his dismissal left India A wobbling at 184/8 in the 35th over. Tilak, however, held firm and found useful lower-order support from Ravi Bishnoi (26) and Arshdeep Singh (10*), to add 62 runs for the last two wickets. Just as he looked set for a well-deserved century, Tilak fell short on 94, becoming Edwards's fourth victim as India A were bowled out with 4.1 overs still unused.

Australia A got off to a brisk start in the chase, with Jake Fraser-McGurk leading the charge, as they moved quickly to 48/0 inside six overs. Rain stopped play for a while, forcing the overs to be reduced when the match finally recommenced. Fraser-McGurk continued positively, scoring the bulk of the runs in a 57-run stand with Harvey. He struck seven fours and a six before being dismissed for a 20-ball 36 by Sindhu. Harvey and Connolly then forged a strong partnership to put Australia A in firm control of the chase.

Australia A were 92/1 at the end of the 10th over and by the end of the 15th, they were 133/1, with Harvey going past 50 and Connolly also dealing in regular boundaries. The second wicket pair raised a century stand in less than 10 overs, with Connolly hitting five fours and three sixes to finish with an unbeaten 50 off 31 as Australia A sealed the deal in the 17th over. Harvey finished with 70 not out off 49, with his knock including 10 fours and two sixes.

Brief scores: India A 246 in 45.5 overs (Tilak Varma 94, Riyan Parag 58; Jack Edwards 4-56, Will Sutherland 2-25) lost to Australia A 160/1 in 16.4 overs (Mackenzie Harvey 70*, Cooper Connolly 50*, Jake Fraser-McGurk 36; Nishant Sindhu 1-24) by 9 wickets.