India A batted at a brisk pace in the second innings on Day 4
India A batters have begun their shadow tour of England in excellent fashion. In their first game against England Lions in Canterbury, the visitors posted a sizeable total of 557 all out in the first innings.
Karun Nair, back in the national team after a wait of eight long years, led the charge with a brilliant 207 while Sarfaraz Khan (92) and Dhruv Jurel (94) and Harsh Dubey (32) provided great support in the proceedings.
While the middle-order made hay, the openers had a disappointing start with India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran getting out for a score of 8 while Yashaswi Jaiswal managed to get out on 24.
In reply, the Lions batted superbly, specifically their top order and Dan Mousley in the lower middle-order. Opener Tom Haines scored 171 while Max Holden scored run-a-ball 101. While Mukesh Kumar got a three-wicket burst on the third day to pull things back for the visiting team, Mousley’s 113 and 108-run partnership with Zaman Akhter put England Lions back on top and gain a slender 30-run lead in the first innings.
After the first innings on both sides took nine and half sessions to end, India A were left with less than 70 overs on the final day.
In order to get the best preparation for the main tour and make up for the disappointment in the first innings, captain Easwaran scored at a brisk pace. Along with Jaiswal, the 29-year-old struck a fifty at almost run-a-ball pace. It was Easwaran’s 30th First-Class fifty as India A cruised past 100 runs without a loss.
ALSO READ:
Jaiswal, who is most likely to open the innings in the Test series, also played gorgeous drives around the ground to reach his fifty in 54 balls.
The left hander was the first to depart after adding 123 for the first wicket, after he was caught by Emilio Gay in legspinner Rehan Ahmed’s bowling.
Easwaran, meanwhile, added 27 more runs before being castled by Rehan when he was on 68.
Easwaran was discarded for the main squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in November as he scored only 36 runs from four innings. However, he earned his maiden call-up with Rohit Sharma announcing his retirement.
He will need two more big scores if he is trump the likes of KL Rahul, new Test captain Shubman Gill, newcomer Sai Sudharsan for the opening position or make it to the playing XI and bat lower in the middle-order.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
