Australia A were 87 for 5, and Nathan McSweeney’s 123 set up a 125-run win over India A in Puducherry
Will Sutherland made 77 in a 141-run stand, and Mahli Beardman’s 4 for 23 had India A bowled out for 149 in the first one-dayer.
Oct 7, 2026
Australia A lost five wickets for 87 after choosing to bat in the first one-dayer at the Cricket Association Pondicherry Siechem Ground on Tuesday, 6 October. They finished with a 125-run win. Nathan McSweeney made 123 from 135 balls, Will Sutherland hit 77, and then Mahli Beardman took three wickets in his first two overs to leave India A 24 for 3. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s side were bowled out for 149 in 31.4 overs.
From 87 for 5 to 274
India A’s seamers had the better of the first hour. Yash Thakur removed Mitchell Owen and Sam Konstas, Arshad Khan got rid of Josh Philippe, and Australia A were 30 for 3 inside five overs. Nishant Sindhu and Suryansh Shedge picked off Liam Scott and Nikhil Chaudhary, and at 87 for 5 in the 17th over the visitors looked like they would be chasing nothing more than a respectable total.
McSweeney and Sutherland put on 141 for the sixth wicket in 23.2 overs. McSweeney was the anchor. He took 72 balls over his fifty, hit 13 fours and no sixes, and went to his second List A hundred off 118 balls. Sutherland, the Australia A captain, hit four sixes in his 68-ball innings and gave the stand its pace.
Shedge broke it when he bowled Sutherland with the last ball of the 40th over, and then took two wickets in two balls in the 42nd, Todd Murphy and Spencer Johnson both caught by Prabhsimran Singh. He finished with 4 for 40 from seven overs. Shedge is only in the side because Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the series with a shin problem, and it was a decent way to take the chance. Thakur had 3 for 47. McSweeney fell in the 48th over, caught behind, and Arshad bowled Beardman to end the innings at 274.
Beardman’s two overs
India A needed 275 from their 50 overs. Beardman, the 21-year-old Western Australian quick, had the chase in trouble inside four overs. He had Sai Sudharsan caught behind for 1 with the fourth ball he bowled, then removed Devdutt Padikkal for a duck and Prabhsimran for 17 in his second over. Prabhsimran had raced to 17 off nine balls before he slashed one straight to point.
Gaikwad hung around for 30 balls for his 15 before Johnson had him caught, and at 58 for 4 the chase depended on Rajat Patidar. He made 53 from 51 balls and added 47 for the fifth wicket with Sindhu (31), but once Sindhu was out the rest went quickly. Beardman came back to remove Shedge, Owen got Patidar, and India A lost their last three wickets with the score on 149.
Beardman finished with 4 for 23 from six overs. He is just back from a stress injury in his back that ended his last season early, and told reporters afterwards that it was only his third game back and he still felt “a little bit underdone”. Johnson took 2 for 36.
Two games left
McSweeney was named player of the match. His four first-class innings against India A on this tour brought 0, 35, 34 and 36, so this was the score he needed. India A won the four-day series 1-0, but they now trail the one-day leg 1-0 with the second game at the same ground on Friday, 9 October, and the third on Sunday, 11 October.