Cricket

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed concern over the poor performance of Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul during the second match between India A and Australia A. He believes that their struggles highlight the challenges Indian batters face when playing in Australian conditions for the first time.Manjrekar noted that the dismissals of India A batters were typical of Indian batters playing in Australia for the first time. He attributed this to their instinctive playing style, which is not suited to the extra bounce and pace of Australian pitches."The dismissal that you saw of most Indian batters was typical of an Indian batter going to Australia and a pitch that has some juice in it where instinctively they are playing in a certain manner and are surprised by the the extra bounce and that happened to all of us," Manjrekar said.He advised Indian batters to adapt to Australian conditions and get rid of their "Indian instincts.""We went to Australia and that is why we needed time to get used to the bounce and instinctively sort of play a little higher than you would. So you have to get rid of the Indian instincts," he said.Manjrekar's comments come as India prepares for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, starting with the Perth Test on November 22. KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran are the frontrunners to open the batting for India, but their recent performances have raised doubts about their readiness.Easwaran has failed to reach the 20-run mark in all four innings he has played in Australia, while Rahul has scored just 4 and 10 in the second match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.Manjrekar's analysis suggests that both players may need more time to adjust to Australian conditions before they are ready to play in the Test series.

Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney is confident in his ability to open the batting in the first Test against India, should the selectors opt for a non-specialist. The race to partner Usman Khawaja has narrowed down to two four-day matches between Australia A and India A.McSweeney, who typically bats at No. 3 for South Australia, has impressed with his recent performances, including scores of 55, 127 not out, 37, and 72 in the Sheffield Shield season. His strong form and leadership credentials have caught the attention of the national selectors."I think I'm playing probably the best cricket I have, batting No. 3 for South Australia, and pretty much my whole career," McSweeney said. "It's not too dissimilar to opening. I feel like you can be in there the first over of the game. All my preparation is with the new ball, so I feel like my game's ready."While McSweeney is eager for an opportunity to open, he remains focused on his current role at No. 3. "I'm quite clear where I'm batting for this game. It's a great honor to play for Australia and I'm happy to bat wherever," he said.Australia A will face a talented India A side in the upcoming four-day match in Mackay. India A boasts several Test squad members, including allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. McSweeney is excited about the challenge and believes his team can perform well."It will be nice to play those guys. We only see them on TV [in the IPL], for me personally," McSweeney said. "The wicket looks great, I don't think it will be too toss dependent. I think with the bat and the ball, they've got some great players.""We'll need to be at our best and hopefully we can put in a good performance and get the win for Australia A."