After losing the three-match ODI series against the host England by the 2-1 margin, India is now preparing for the five-match Test series against the hosts England, starting from August 1. But, the Indian batsmen are struggling to perform consistently as the Test specialist opener Murali Vijay has the disappointing start in the England tour.
Vijay is currently busy to play the only unofficial four-day Test between England Lions and India A at Worcester, where the English opener and former England Test and ODI captain Alastair Cook is also participating.
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Cook played a brilliant knock on the opening day of the Test after their captain Rory Burns decided to bat first. At the end of the opening day, Cook was not out on 154 as England Lions was 310/2.
On the day 2, Cook added 26 more runs and was bowled out by Ankit Rajpoot after scoring 180 off 268 balls with 26 fours. Moreover, Nick Gubbins (73 runs) and Dawid Malan (74 runs) delivered some important knocks as England Lions managed to score 423 runs in their first innings.
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The young right-arm pacer Mohammed Siraj (4/79) picked up four wickets in that innings while the left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem (3/46) scalped three wickets. Also, the right-arm pacer Ankit Rajpoot (2/64) got two wickets and another right-arm pacer Navdeep Saini (1/109) picked up one wicket.
In reply, India A had a poor start as the opener Murali Vijay (8), Mayank Agarwal (0) and the skipper Karun Nair (4) failed to reach the double-digit scores.
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In the beginning, the teenage opener Prithvi Shaw was carrying the innings as he completed his half-century but later, he was dismissed on 62 off 82 balls (8 fours).
Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant have now the important responsibilities as they were not out at the end of day 2 on 26 and 37 runs respectively while India was on 144/4.
Among the England Lions bowlers, Matthew Fisher (2/24) picked up two wickets while Jamie Porter (1/25) and Sam Curran (1/43) got one wicket each.
Brief Scores: England Lions – 423 (Alastair Cook 180, Dawid Malan 74; Mohammed Siraj 4/79)
India A – 144/4 (Prithvi Shaw 62, Rishabh Pant 37*; Matthew Fisher 2/24)
