India’s tour of England has officially begun. And it couldn’t have started on a better note. Facing the England Lions at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, India A have finished the first day of the 4-day unofficial Test with a score of 409/3 after 90 overs.
Jaiswal & Easwaran flop
The hosts were on the front foot after the first hour of play with openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and Yashasvi Jaiswal both in the hut. Easwaran would be gutted, as he could have snatched Rohit Sharma’s opening spot after his retirement. But the India A captain managed a single-digit score, 8. Jaiswal was looking great but played a rash shot to throw his wicket away.
Karun Nair in full flight
Fascinatingly, Karun Nair, who had scored his runs in domestic cricket in the middle order, was slotted at number three. But the 33-year-old took the challenge on. Having come into the middle in the 7th over, Nair finished unbeaten at 185 at the end of the first day’s play.
Nair never looked out of control. From the start, it looked like he knew what he was doing. Having played for Northamptonshire for the last two years in the County Championship, Nair has a good grasp of how surfaces play in England. And he used the experience to his best, making Lions’ bowlers work hard.
Sarfaraz Khan misses out on a century
Sarfaraz Khan came in at number four in the 18th over and the duo stitched a 181-run stand. He played like he usually does. He came down the wicket, nudged the ball from outside off to leg, and was guiding the ball past the slips. However, he couldn’t score a hundred. He was caught behind at 92, and a fine innings came to an end.
Dhruv Jurel, closing in on a hundred
India A vice-captain, Dhruv Jurel, joined the party as well. He took his time to settle in and had scored just 8 (23). From there, Jurel ended the day unbeaten at 82. That too, from just 104 balls. That means he scored 76 runs in his last 81 balls. Almost run a ball. A great day for India A batter and a day to forget for the England Lions
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