Bad light forces early closure as Lions gain upper hand courtesy half-centuries from Emilio Gay and Tom Haines.
Bad light forced an early end to the day’s play, with Lions having cut down the deficit to 156 runs.
The England Lions finished the India A tail and then reached 192 or 3 at stumps, demonstrating how the hosts controlled the day. Tom Haines maintained his strong play with another fifty, while Emilio Gay achieved the highest score of 71. On 31, Jordan Cox was still undefeated.
The bowlers for India A were inconsistent despite having strong spells. Tanush Kotian and Tushar Deshpande each took one wicket, and Anshul Kamboj took one for 38.
Josh Tongue began the day by taking out Kotian and Kamboj, the overnight hitters, early. India A reached 348 after Khaleel Ahmed and Deshpande scored 18 off 23 for the tenth wicket.
As the ball swung around for both Khaleel and Kamboj, Haines, the centurion from the first unofficial Test, appeared the most compact in response.
Kamboj was able to pull a lot more false shots and beat the bat several times, including four consecutive times against Haines, thanks to his effective around-the-wicket angle. Despite having a regulation catch thrown down at backward point, he persisted and caught Ben McKinney behind two balls later. Kamboj appeared to be the visitors’ finest bowler throughout a lengthy six-over performance.
Following lunch, Shardul Thakur bowled an exciting opening over that included two no-balls and a missed opportunity. Thakur missed a relatively difficult opportunity after Haines pushed out a longer delivery. Additionally, in his first five overs, Thakur delivered four no-balls.
Before Haines hit another good four against Thakur, Gay found a booming four against Khaleel. Gay had a concussion check when Khaleel’s sharp bumper hit the side of his head.
Other than a streaky four past the slips to reach fifty, Haines’ knock was trouble-free. After lunch, the Lions added 65 runs in 11 overs because to the quick hitting of both batsmen.
Gay appeared mostly at ease and only slightly disturbed by Kamboj and Thakur’s around-the-wicket angle. With a on drive, he reached his 16th first-class fifty off 88 balls. As the Lions reached 146 for 2 at tea, Cox kept him company.
Gay was trapped in front of the stumps by Kotian, ending the 69-run stand between him and Cox. Before the players left due to poor lighting, Captain James Rew had to deal with five deliveries. After the last session, which lasted 13 overs, they did not return with stumps being called.