Learoyd, Dark's fifties help Australia A beat India A by 6 wickets

Brisbane, Aug 24 (IANS) Anika Learoyd and Maddy Darke hit fifties each as Australia A successfully chased down a stiff target of 281 on day four of the one-off four-day game and beat India A by six wickets at the Allan Border Field on Sunday.

In the morning, Amy Edgar finished with her second five-for of the game to bowl India A out for 286 in 81.4 overs. India A had resumed day four on 260/8 and added a further 26 runs to their overnight tally before being bowled out.

In the chase, Anika (72), Maddy (68) and Rachel Trenaman (64) guided Australia A home. The contest had been finely balanced across the first three days, with both sides enjoying spells of dominance. But Australia A openers Rachel and skipper Tahlia Wilson (46) laid the platform for the improbable chase with a patient 117-run opening stand.

They were also helped by some sloppy fielding from India A before Tahlia was dismissed by Saima Thakor, and Rachel fell soon after to the pacer. With the target still 163 runs away, the twin dismissals brought some hope of a draw to India A.

But Anika and Maddy ensured there was no late twist, counter-attacking with a 136-run stand off 217 balls for the third wicket to shut the door on the visitors. While Anika’s knock was full of superb optimism, Maddy was controlled and patient while having a calming influence at the crease.

Though both fell with the finish line in sight to Tanushree Sarkar and Joshitha VJ, respectively, Nicole Faltum’s 16 not out guided Australia A home without any further alarms.

Though India A were swept 3-0 in T20 series and ended up on the losing side in the four-day game, they can take a lot of solace from their 2-1 50-over series win and plenty of learning experiences to prepare for future challenges.

Brief Scores: Brief Scores: India A 299 & 286 in 81.4 overs (Raghvi Bist 86, Shafali Verma 52; Amy Edgar 5-57, Georgia Prestwidge 3-47) lost to Australia A 305 and 283/4 in 85.3 overs (Anika Learoyd 72, Maddy Darke 68; Saima Thakor 2-63, Tanushree Sarkar 1-20) by six wickets

--IANS

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