"It was like a nail would have brushed it near the ground" - India A brush aside ball-tampering allegations against Australia A

The Ruturaj Gaikwad-led India A side landed in a spot of bother when the on-field umpires changed the ball ahead of the final day of the first unofficial Test against Australia A in Mackay. The officials found the ball in a damaged state, prompting a switch in the red cherry, and mystery behind the origins of the tampering.

The Cricket Australia (CA) clarified in a statement that there is no clarity over how the ball ended up being tarnished, and stated that it is unlikely that India A had anything to do with the incident.

The visiting squad were unhappy with the umpire's decision to change the ball with Australia A in the driving seat in the contest. Wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan was even vocal with his displeasure to the on-field umpire, and was close to being reported for dissent.

“Our players didn’t tamper or scratch the ball. There were three marks on the ball which was changed. It was like a nail would have brushed it near the ground or the marks would have happened near the boundary rope or it must have brushed the boards. Our players had nothing to do with any allegations and our players told this to the umpire too,” a source within the India A team told the Indian Express.

Former Australia player Ian Healy, however, was not pleased with the explanation provided. He felt that India A had in fact tampered with the ball to get some reverse swing to stage a late comeback in the contest.

“When you see a team complain about a ball being changed, they were up to something. India A were gearing up for a big reverse swing session in order to get the Australians under pressure. Australia were chasing a small total and it just didn’t happen (for India A). The Australia A batters were oblivious to it. They just put their head down and performed really well," Healy said on SenQ.

Australia A went about the remainder of the run chase unfused, with the pair of Nathan McSweeney and Beau Webster guiding the team over the line to take a 1-0 lead.

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The second match between India A and Australia A is scheduled to begin from November 7 onwards

India A, bolstered with the addition of KL Rahul and Dhriv Jurel in the setup, will face Australia A in the second and final match of the shadow tour at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) from November 7 onwards.

It marks a crucial contest for the main squad members like Abhimanyu Easwaran and Nitish Kumar Reddy to cast an impression. India A were also scheduled to play against the Rohit Sharma-led Team India ahead of the Border-Gavaskar series. However, the warm-up match has been cancelled, with the Men in Blue opting for match simulation and net sessions on the centre wicket at the WACA.