Nitya Pandya led India U-19’s charge with a fluent 94 as the hosts finished at 316 for five on the opening day of the second youth Test against Australia here on Monday. Pandya was among the four half centurions for India on the day and also the top scorer, having missed his triple-figure mark by a narrow margin of six runs. The right-handed Pandya cracked 12 fours to make 94 off 135 balls before falling to Harry Hoekstra (2/29), who delivered an early blow to India with the dismissal of Vaibhav Suryavanshi (3).

Vihaan Malhotra could only manage a four in his score of 10 off as many as 75 balls as Australia seemed to have controlled the initial stages of the game, but Pandya led India’s fightback and the hosts finished at a strong position at stumps.

India No. 3 Pandya found ample support in KP Karthikeya as the duo put on 112 runs for the third wicket. Karthikeya made 71 off 99 balls with nine fours and a six.

Both Pandya and Karthikeya fell in a space of four overs which did leave India in a spot of bother at 185 for four, but a 105-run association between captain Soham Patwardhan and Nikhil Kumar helped them consolidate.

Nikhil was the more aggressive among the two as he hit seven fours for his 61 off 93 balls before being dismissed.

Patwardhan was holding fort at the other end with an unbeaten 61 off 120 balls (6x4s) with wicketkeeper-batter Harvansh Pangalia on 7.

India lead the youth Test series 1-0 having won the first game by two wickets.

Brief scores: India U-19 316/5 in 90 overs (Nitya Pandya 94, KP Karthikeya 71, Soham Patwardhan 61*, Nikhil Kumar 61; Harry Hoekstra 2/29) vs Australia U-19.

Injured Samit Dravid is likely to miss India Under-19 side’s two four-day matches against Australia, which is starting in Chennai from Monday. Samit is currently at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) recuperating from a knee injury that forced him to sit out of the three-match youth one-dayers against the Aussies recently. He was expected to make his India U-19 debut at Puducherry but did not feature in any of the three matches. India had won the series 3-0. “As of now he’s at the NCA, recovering from his knee injury. So, I don’t know yet. It looks unlikely,” head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

In fact, for Samit, son of former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid, this is the last chance to represent India at the U19 level.

He is set to turn 19 on October 11 this year, which will also make him ineligible for playing for India in the ICC 2026 Under-19 World Cup.

“His MRI scan was done during the one-day matches. We thought of giving him a go at the four-day game, but let’s see how he progresses at the NCA. We are waiting for their report. We also have a second match,” a source close to the development told PTI.

The second four-day match will start from October 7 at Chepauk, hence Samit has another week to recover from the knee injury.

Kanitkar said playing four-day red-ball game at the Under-19 stage will help the development of players.

“I think it’s a great initiative to play Test games because red-ball [cricket] really tests you. There’s enough time for the bowlers to plan and make strategies. So, for both batters and bowlers and even for fielders it’s the ideal challenge to see where you stand.

“I think to be able to play against a foreign side is a great thing. I know a lot of people, including myself who played Under-19 cricket against foreign teams and it really helped us a lot,” Kanitkar added.

Opener Sahil Parakh made an aggressive unbeaten hundred as India Under-19 brushed aside Australia by nine wickets on Monday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match youth ODIs. Parakh’s hundred (109 not out, 75b, 14×4, 5×6) helped India achieve the target of 177 in just 22 overs. India had beaten Australia in the first match by seven wickets on Saturday. After the early departure of Rudra Patel (10), Parakh, a 19-year from Mumbai, stitched a fine partnership of 153 with Abhigyan Kundu (53 not out, 50b, 9×4) to take their side home easily.

Earlier, Karnataka medium pacer Samarth Nagaraj (2/34), Kerala leg-spinner Mohammed Enaan (2/30) and off-spinner Kiran Chormale (2/29) shared six wickets among them to restrict the Aussies to 176 all out in 49.3 overs.

Several Australian batters got starts before perishing cheaply to the persistent Indian bowlers.

For the visitors, middle-order batter Addison Sheriff (39, 61b, 2×4) was the top-scorer.

The inconsequential third match will be played here on Thursday before the teams travel to Chennai for two unofficial ‘Tests’ from September 30.

Brief scores: Australia U19: 176 all out in 49.3 overs (Addison Sheriff 39, Christian Howe 28; Samarth Nagaraj 2/34, Mohammed Enaan 2/30, Kiran Chormale 2/29) lost to India U19: 177/1 in 22 overs (Sahil Parakh 109 not out, Abhigyan Kundu 53 not out) by 9 wickets. PTI UNG 7/21/2024 AH AH