Agar, Lyon shine as Australia A secure final berth with three-wicket win over India A

Australia A claimed a convincing three-wicket win over India A in their third match of the triangular series and consequently booked a berth in the final in Chennai on Monday.

The hosts clambered their way to a score of 258 for nine after opting to bat first. Mayank Agarwal (61) and Manish Pandey (50) were the notable scorers for India A.

The duo shared a strong 72-run partnership for the second wicket after losing captain Unmukt Chand cheaply for just five runs.

However, the introduction of left-arm spinner Ashton Agar proved decisive for the tourists as he dismantled the Indian middle-order line-up and returned figures of five wickets for 39 runs.

 

In reply, Australia A got off to a flying start as openers Usman Khwaja (18) and Travis Head (45) smashed a brisk 58-run partnership before the dismissal of the former.

Subsequently, Chris Lynn consolidated the innings by scoring a fluent 63 before he was bowled out by Axar Patel.

Karn Sharma, underpinned by Axar and Karun Nair, then pegged back Australia A after reducing the tourists to 178-6 in the 34.3 over.

However, Callum Ferguson (45 not out) and Adam Zampa (54) displayed tremendous level of resilience as the duo shared a decisive 80-run stand for the seventh wicket to steer home to victory.