Aussie spearhead breaks 335-day drought

Having not played a first-class match since January, the three-day tour match provided Pattinson with an opportunity to taste some long-format cricket ahead of the Test series against India.

And the 30-year-old immediately proved there wasn’t any rust, snaring three crucial wickets on Sunday.

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After finding the outside edge of Prithvi Shaw’s bat in his second over, Pattinson removed the dangerous Cheteshwar Pujara for 54 in the afternoon session.

He then dismissed all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin for five, finishing the day with figures of 3/58 off 19 overs.

“With his energy and the lengths he hit, he was able to make some really crucial breakthroughs for us, and that’s what we know Patto can bring,” Australia A captain Travis Head told reporters.

“He did that at the start of the innings, and got a breakthrough in the middle there.

“All the bowlers were exceptional today … we created pressure form both ends.”

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Pujara gave the Australian Test squad plenty of headaches during India’s previous tour, scoring 521 runs in seven innings in the 2018/19 series.

Head conceded the Australia A side were relieved the see the back of him after Pattinson’s breakthrough in the 47th over.

“We tried a few different things today and a few plans,” Head said. “It’s nice that in the end of the day, one of them worked, and one of the fielding placements we put in was able to get the breakthrough.

“We know what (Pujara’s) going to bring, and he brought that again today, and nobody’s surprised by that.

“But I feel like the way we were able to bowl to him, at stages suffocate him and shut down the scoreboard against him, was really good.”

India A are 8/237 at stumps on day one, with Ajinkya Rahane not out on 108.