Watch: Devdutt Padikkal's stunning catch to dismiss Josh Philippe during IND A vs AUS A 1st unofficial ODI

Just a couple of days after the Indian senior side’s three-match ODI series against the West Indies, where they earned a 2-1 series victory, the focus has shifted to the unofficial ODI series between India A and Australia A, as the games are played at the Cricket Association Puducherry Siechem Ground in Puducherry. And Devdutt Padikkal’s catch in the game went viral. 

The Will Sutherland-led side won the toss against the Ruturaj Gaikwad-led side and opted to bat first on the surface, which they felt would get slow in the second innings. But their acid test was to face the spinners of the hosts in the first innings and put up a strong score on the board.  

Watch Devdutt Padikkal's stunning catch off Arshad Khan to dismiss Josh Philippe

It was the second delivery of the fifth over of the innings from Arshad Khan when the right-handed batter, Josh Philippe, went for a flashing drive outside the off stump. He got away in the last over against the pace by edging one off the bounce to the third-man region. But on the second attempt, he didn’t get the life.

Watch Padikkal's catch here- 

This time, Phillipe went for a massive drive as the outside edge was well-held in the slip region by Devdutt Padikkal, who dived to his right and grabbed the ball with both hands. They checked for a clean catch. But Padikkal was superb in the operation as he rolled over nicely with the ball in hand.

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Padikkal has been superb on the field, as he has displayed the same skills for the national side in the longest format and even in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). 

How India A bowled vs Australia A: Yash Thakur strikes twice as hosts reduce visitors to 5 down early

Australia A made a poor start with the bat as they were reduced to 30/3 in the fifth over of the innings. Mitchell Owen, who smashed a boundary and a six in his stay of seven balls, got an edge into the hands of the wicket-keeper, Prabhsimran Singh. Sam Konstas was also dismissed for 14 runs.

Phillipe was dismissed for a couple of runs. Yash Thakur had been excellent with the new ball as he picked up 2/21 in his four overs, along with Nishant Sindhu’s 1/12. Nathan McSweeney celebrated his fine half-century at number four.

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Brief Scores: Australia A 142/5 (Nathan McSweeney 61*, Yash Thakur 2/21) vs India A