Published: Jan 23, 2019, 06:59 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 23, 2019, 06:59 PM (IST)
Ajinkya Rahane-led India A took 1-0 lead in the five-match one-day series after they beat England Lions in the first match in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
After put in to bat first, skipper Sam Billings unbeaten 108 and wicketekeeper-batsman Alex Davies’ 54 guided England Lions to 285. While Billings, batting at number four, hit 5 fours and 4 sixes in his 104-ball knock as England Lions scored 285, Davies, who opened the innings, hit 7 fours in his 64-ball stay in the middle. While Ben Duckett (23), Sam Hain (21) and Will Jacks all got the starts, the trio failed to make it count. (ALSO READ: Virat Kohli to be rested for last two ODIs and T20I series against New Zealand, Rohit Sharma named captain)
For India A, Axar Patel (2/52), Mayank Markande (2/45) and Siddarth Kaul (2/54) scalped two wickets each while Shardul Thakur (1/67) picked a wicket. Deepak Chahar and Krunal Pandya, meanwhile, went wicketless.
India A’s chase started off on a bright note as openers Rahane, who went on to score 59 off 87 balls, and Anmolpreet Singh (33 off 45 balls) put up a 66-run stand. Following Anmolpreet’s dismissal, Shreyas Iyer (45 off 52 balls) joined Rahane and the duo added 73 runs before Zak Chappell (3/84) dismissed Iyer. (ALSO READ: Virat Kohli surpasses Brian Lara to enter top-10 ODI run-getters’ list)
Danny Briggs (2/31) then gave England Lions two breakthroughs in a quick succession as Rahane and Hanuma Vihari (16 off 18 balls) dismissed in the same over.
Just when it looked that India A will lose out on the early advantage, Ishan Kishan (57 not out off 48 balls) and Krunal (29 off 25 balls) stitched a 60-run partnership. (ALSO READ: You have made my day with the great news: Sir Garfield Sobers tells Virat Kohli after sweeping ICC awards)
While Krunal was dismissed with India A needing 60 runs to win, Kishan stayed till the end to seal India A’s three-wicket win.
The second game of the five-match series will be played on Friday.
