Jaques slams unbeaten 199, Australia A eye mammoth 1st inning to

Sydney, July 18 (UNI) India A skipper Y Venugopal Rao was left cursing himself after inserting Australia A as opener Phil Jaques slammed an unbeaten 199 that saw the hosts finish day one of the Top End Cricket Series tie on an imposing 361 for two at the Cazalys Stadium in Cairns today.

In a complete mismatch between the ball and the bat, there was no end to the misery of the Indian bowlers who toiled in the middle but met little success, while Australia A is looking for a huge first innings total.

Jacques and his colleague Chris Rogers (55) milked the Indian A attack and raised 171 before Piyush Chawla snared the latter, much to the relief of the visiting camp.

Lanky Bengal pacer Shiv Shankar Paul then induced Mark Cosgrove (1) to edge one to perish caught behind in the very next over but that was the last time they celebrated.

Cosgrove's departure brought in Travis Birt (82 not out) to join Jaques in the middle and the duo ensured it was a sorry saga with the Indian attack.

The Indian A attack was reduced to a pedestrian level and the Aussies scored runs almost at will.

Venugopal Rao used six bowlers, including himself, but that did not yield the result and it would now require a miracle of sort to stop the hosts from exploiting the idea batting conditions.

On a day of forgettable outing, Paul finished the day with 13.3-1-48-1, while the figure read 20-2-83-1 for Chawla.

Jaques was left stranded just one run short of a well-deserved double century after a more than six hours stay in the middle, during which he faced 284 deliveries and the brilliant knock was studded with 19 hits to the fence.

Birt was out there for about three hours and faced 142 balls for his unbeaten 82 which included nine boundaries.

Brief score: Australia A 361 for 2 (Phil Jaques 199 not out, Chris Rogers 55, Travis Birt 82 not out ; SS Paul 1/48, Piyush Chawla 1/83).

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