Nathan McSweeney, the highest run-getter in Australia A's 2-1 one-day series win against India A in Puducherry, has attributed his success to rigorous prep, which included watching videos of Virat Kohli and Steven Smith on YouTube.
"I think obviously coming to India as, an Australian, it's a heavy spin focus and you try and work hard and watch the great Indian players on how they play spin," McSweeney told the host broadcaster after the white-ball series ended on Sunday. "[Watching] Virat Kohli on YouTube trying to study how he goes about it, Steve Smith, other Australians that have come over and done really well. So, there's plenty of analysts and data that we are given as well. So, it's nice to action that out in the middle and execute it fairly well."
McSweeney put all of that prep to good use, rattling up 194 runs in three innings at an average of 64.66 and strike rate of 83.62 on surfaces that weren't straightforward to bat on.
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In the first official one-day series he played in India, McSweeney's adept footwork, which included stretching out to sweep and venturing out of the crease, threw India's spinners off their track. He often played with soft hands to bunt the ball into the gaps.
"I'm very pleased to come over here in good conditions and spend some time in the middle, which is always nice and a series win in India is no easy feat by any international team coming over," McSweeney said. "It's a very tough place to come and play cricket against tough competition always. So, yeah, well done to our boys and it's nice to get a series win."
McSweeney had a shaky start to the tour and didn't convert his starts in the preceding unofficial Test series, which Australia A lost 0-1, but hopes to remedy the errors the next time he visits India.
"I think I missed out in the first innings of a couple of those games," McSweeney said. "We saw anyone that watched the four-day stuff, as the game went on it got really hard to bat. So, I think I got a couple of thirties in the second innings of both those games.
"But, I think where it counts, especially playing cricket in India, is in that first innings of long-form cricket if you can make a big score there. Not only is it probably easier for batting but also sets up your team to win the game. So, coming back here hopefully I get another opportunity. I'll be really trying to focus on that."
Murphy: Air speed from fast bowlers exciting
Spinner Todd Murphy, who captained Australia A in the third one-dayer on Sunday, after emerging as the joint-highest wicket-taker in the unofficial Test series, also toasted his team's success in the shorter format.
"Yeah, I think 2-1-series wins are really pleasing," Murphy said. "Obviously, we would have loved for it to be 3-0, but I think there's a lot of positives coming out of the series. So, all in all, we're really happy.
"I think [in] the whole series has been able to take wickets through the middle which is really pleasing. And that's something we really identified at the start of the series. So, that was pleasing again today."
But it was Australia A's quicks who stole the show, dominating the Indians with pace and bounce, often taking the conditions out of the equation. Mahli Beardman, the Western Australia and Perth Scorchers quick, who is building up his loads following a back stress fracture, regularly set the speed gun on fire and was ably backed up by Spencer Johnson, Ben Dwarshuis and Riley Meredith.
While Mitch Owen isn't as quick as the specialist fast bowlers, he also did his job by digging the ball into the middle of the deck to discomfit the India A batters.
"I think one of the highlights for our whole group was the ball speed from the quicks and how exciting they were and how threatening they looked," Murphy said. "And then seeing the batters in these conditions, finding a method of work was really exciting."