IND A vs AUS A 2025: India A vs Australia A, 1st Multi-Day Match Preview

Red-ball cricket lovers have something exciting coming up when India A host Australia A for the first Multi-Day match of the two-match series at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow. The match getting underway on Tuesday, September 16 is set to be a four-day fixture, as exciting multi-format the tour gets underway.

India A will be led by star batter Shreyas Iyer, who seems all set to be making his return to the Test side ahead of the upcoming series against the West Indies. Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel has been named as Iyer's deputy for the couple of games. The squad for the first match also has the likes of Prasidh Krishna, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Sai Sudharsan, Narayan Jagadeesan, Devdutt Padikkal, and Abhimanyu Easwaran. The hosts will look to dominate with their A-game in Lucknow over the course of the next four days.

Australia A, on the other hand, haven't named a captain yet. However, going by the strong leadership credentials that he holds, all-rounder Nathan McSweeney might get a go for donning the captain's blazer. A few proven performers in the red-ball arena have also travelled to the Indian land, with Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly and Todd Murphy headlining the 14-man squad. All-rounder Aaron Hardie, part of the original squad, had to pull out due to an injury.

Match Details

Pitch Report

The surface in Lucknow has had a reputation of assisting bowlers. However, the wicket usually loses pace and the assistance to fast bowlers lessens, bringing the spinners into play. With both sides boasting some quality spinners in their ranks, it is expected that the captain winning the toss will be tempted to bat first and take advantage of the conditions to the best of his side's benefit.

Head-to-Head

Predicted Playing 11s

India A

Shreyas Iyer (captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Narayan Jagadeesan, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Khaleel Ahmed, Prasidh Krishna

Australia A

Sam Konstas, Nathan McSweeney, Jack Edwards, Campbell Kellaway, Josh Philippe, Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Todd Murphy, Corey Rocchicioli, Henry Thornton, Fergus O'Neill