Rajat Patidar Heroics In Vain As India A Lose Series To Australia A

India A lost to Australia [Source: screengrab/x]Australia A pipped India A in the second unofficial ODI to clinch the three-match series in Puducherry with a game to spare. The visitors had also won the series-opener at the same venue earlier this week.The outcome came as a much respite for the Australia A team, considering they started off the India tour with a 0-1 defeat to the hosts in the two-match unofficial Test series.Sam Konstas and Josh Phillipe 50s take Australia A to 275Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney won the toss and opted to bat first in the second unofficial ODI of the series. Mitchell Owen got his side off to a flier with an attacking 13-ball 25 before getting dismissed by Yash Thakur.Fellow opener Sam Konstas composed 67 runs off 88 balls to top-score in the innings, and formed a 101-run partnership with fellow half-centurion and number three batter Josh Phillipe. ALSO READIndia A Series Could Shape Ruturaj Gaikwad And Devdutt Padikkal’s ODI CasesBoth Konstas and Phillipe fell in the space of 30 minutes to Arshad Khan and Nishant Sindhu respectively, prompting captain Nathan McSweeney to take over charge alongside fellow middle-order batter Lachlan Shaw.Handy runs from Nikhil Chaudhary, Ben Dwarshuis and a rapid cameo from Spencer Johnson (14* off 7) helped Australia A reach 275 in 49.5 overs. For India A, Arshad Khan delivered a tight spell in the slog overs to claim figures of 3-56, while Yash Thakur chipped in with 2-46. Vipraj Nigam, Nishant Sindhu, Suryansh Shedge and Anukul Roy all picked up a wicket each in the Australian A innings.India A bundle out despite Rajat Patidar’s fighting 67Chasing 276 runs for a win, India A lost opener Devdutt Padikkal for just a single to Spencer Johnson. Sai Sudharsan and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad also failed to lead India’s recovery as the two cricketers were cheaply dismissed by Ben Dwarshuis (1-34) and Riley Meredith inside the first 10 overs.India A’s entire middle-order, barring IPL cult hero Rajat Patidar, came up short against the visiting bowlers. Patidar scored a courageous 67 off 82 balls, while Anukul Roy slogged a few in his gutsy 34*.Overall, the hosts bundled out for just 206 in 45.2 overs to lose the second unofficial ODI by 69 runs to concede the three-match series.For Australia A, Spencer Johnson bagged impressive figures of 3-35 to cap a remarkable all-round performance for himself. Riley Meredith and spinner Tanveer Sangha also picked up two India A wickets each in the innings.The two teams will now face each other in the dead-rubber third unofficial ODI on Sunday, October 11.ALSO READParthiv Patel Asked RCB To Buy Jasprit Bumrah In IPL 2014, But Franchise Ignored His Advice