Abhimanyu and Rahul pile fluent 50s as Josh Tongue hobbles off with India A adding to their lead of 21 runs.
Abhimanyu and Rahul hit fifties as India A extend lead.
From KL, half-century ago On the third day of the second unofficial Test, India A overtook the England Lions thanks to Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran after Khaleel Ahmed claimed four wickets. India A had a 184-run lead at the close of the penultimate day in Northampton. Woakes took two of the four wickets that fell for the Lions.
Fast bowler Josh Tongue hobbled out after bowling just four overs for 27 runs in the second innings, which may be a worry for England ahead of the five-Test series against India that begins on June 20. It is still unknown what kind of injury he sustained and how severe it is. He will play in the first Test match for England.
After taking a 21-run advantage in the first innings, India A entered the game determined to win. Rahul and Abhimanyu were fluid during their partnership, however Yashasvi Jaiswal lost one behind to George Hill because to his hesitation. Rahul, in particular, was harsh on Tongue whenever he offered width and picked lengths early. He reached fifty off 61 balls, and one of the highlights of his performance was the back-foot punch through backward point. When Rahul miscued to deep mid-on, Eddie Jack got one to rear up at him from a little back of a length, and he fell for 51.
Then, with a 38-run partnership off 36 balls, Abhimanyu and Karun Nair strengthened India’s intentions. Abhimanyu liked Jack and scored four fours and 23 off 24 balls off him. As he reached his half-century off 68 balls, he also successfully used the sweep against Farhan Ahmed’s offspin. He was unable to end Chris Woakes’ second spell, though, when he was nickered to slip for 80 off 92 balls.
Khaleel had the morning, but the India A hitters had the second half of the day. Early in the day, Jordan Cox attempted to establish his dominance with a heave over midwicket, but Khaleel got one to leap from a length, which the set batsman only managed to scrape behind. After a few overs, Khaleel cleaned up Hill with a corker of a yorker for a first-ball duck after catching Lions skipper James Rew at first slip. The Lions lost 4 for 10 in less than six overs, thus Woakes did not last long. However, India A was thwarted by the bottom order, which was headed by Farhan, Tongue, and Jack, as the final two wickets held for more than 150 balls.
There were two stoppages – for about 20 minutes each – in the second and third session that saw play go till about 7:20pm local time.