KL Rahul, Dhurv Jurel and Karun Nair were some of the biggest positives as India A played out two stalemates against England Lions in the shadow tour ahead of the five-match Test series. During the second unofficial test, Rahul earned strong game time and runs under his belt as the star batter slammed a century and a fifty in against the English Lions team at the County Ground, Northampton.
The Karnataka batter Rahul, who is likely to open for India alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Test series, slammed 116 from 168 balls, laced with 15 fours and a six, in the first innings of the four-day game. Jurel also continued his strong run as he hit 52 in the first innings, followed by 28 in the second essay. Jurel had hit 94 and 52 in the first unofficial Test too.
India A play stalemate in the second game too
The Indian A team played another draw against the English Lions team in the second unofficial test. The Abhimanyu Easwaran-led team slammed 348/10 in the first innings, thanks to a century from KL Rahul and a 52 from Jurel. Chris Woakes, who will play the Test series against India, was the pick of the bowlers with 3/60 in his 20 overs.
The hosts replied well with Emilio Gay slamming 71 from 117 balls, while Tom Haines also scored 54. Fast bowler Josh Tongue, who is in the main squad too, made 36 as the hosts were folded to 327.
The visitors piled up a mountain of runs in the second innings. Captain Easwaran slammed 80, while Rahul backed his ton with 51. There were some scoring from the lower middle and lower order with Nitish Reddy making 42, Shardul Thakur scoring 34 and Tanush Kotian and Anshul Kamboj scoring 90 and 51, respectively. For the Lions, George Hill picked three wickets.
India A declared on 417/7, handing the hosts a mountainous target of 439, and with only one session left, there was no chance of the score being chased down. The hosts played 11 overs in the second innings and scored 32/3 as Anshul Kamboj picked a brace, while Tushar Deshpande scalped a wicket too. With an hour left before the close of play, both teams shook hands.
Meanwhile, Karun Nair seems to have pushed his case for selection in the Playing XI for the main tour too after having hit a double hundred in the first unofficial Test. The first game had also ended in a draw.