Ton-talizing day in Brisbane as Australia A draw level with India A

It was a three-ton day at the Allan Border Field in Brisbane on Saturday (December 14) out of which two resulted in a win for Australia A, who levelled the three match One Day series against India A with a game to go.

Georgia Redmayne and Erin Burns’ contrasting tons were at the fore of Australia A’s resurgence in the second match of the series. While Redmayne’s innings was like a soft music in an opera – steady and smooth throughout, Burns’ blitz was like a rock band that acted as a catalyst for the side’s huge five for 315.

Redmayne lost her opening partner Tahlia McGrath pretty early but found an ally for 97 runs in Bridget Patterson (47). Then a further 57 were added with Heather Graham (34), before Annabel Sutherland’s duck left the team in a precarious four for 162 with close to 17 overs to go.

That brought Redmayne and Burns together, who added 149 for the fifth wicket to quell any hopes of a comeback by India A’s bowlers. While Burns finished on 107 off just 59 balls, Redmayne was unconquered on 113.

The touring bowlers had an outing to forget. Fresh off an impressive performance in the first match, their decision to bowl first backfired. Devika Vaidya picked up two wickets but was expensive, while Mansi Joshi, Manali Dakshini and Tanuja Kanwer picked up one apiece.

Shafali Verma then decided to bat the way she knew – attack from the start. Along with Priya Punia, she helped India get to 98 in 17 overs. But eventually her stint in the middle was curtailed for a 36-ball 46 by Molly Strano, who applied sudden brakes on the tourists scoring by picking up two wickets in one over.

Punia then carried on with skipper Veda Krishnamurthy (40) for company. The duo added 107 runs for the third wicket. In the interim, the opener brought up her ton – one that took 113 balls coming, but the latter’s fall was like a landslide. From 205 for two, India A were bowled out for 234 – losing their last eight wickets for just 29 runs.

Sutherland picked up four wickets for the hosts while Strano finished with three for 37. That meant that Australia A’s score proved 81 too many for India A.

Brief Scores: Australia A 315/5 in 50 overs (Georgia Redmayne 113*, Erin Burns 107; Devika Vaidya 2/72) beat India A 234 all out in 44.1 overs (Priya Punia 112, Shafali Verma 46, Veda Krishnamurthy 40; Annabel Sutherland 4/26, Molly Strano 3/37) by 81 runs.