Carrying on the winning momentum on their tour of England, India A defeated Leicester by 281 runs in their second tour match. Having won the first match by 125 runs against England Cricket Board XI, this was an apt way for India A to prepare for the upcoming triangular series.
Shreyas Iyer, captain of India A, had won the toss and chose to bat. India A made three changes to their playing eleven from the last match. Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda were brought in in place of Hanuma Vihari, Vijay Shankar and Ishan Kishan.
Mayank Agarwal, who failed to get going in the first match, matched his young opening partner in Prithvi Shaw as the duo raced to 84 runs in 10 overs. The Indians were expected to post a formidable total against an inexperienced Leicester side. However, the way in which they dominated the opposition was beyond anyone’s imagination.
Shaw and Agarwal completed their individual half-centuries in the 12th and 16th over respectively. There was no stopping the carnage which saw India A scoring 207-0 at the halfway mark. Shaw had completed his maiden List A century until then. In the next over, India A lost their first wicket in the form of Shaw. He scored a sparkling 132 (90) with the help of 20 fours and three sixes.
Thank you for all the wishes coming in! What a day batting with @prithvishaw 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/Fl2Bzlt5Qv
— Mayank Agarwal (@mayankcricket) June 19, 2018
A 221-run opening stand was followed by a 125-run partnership for the second wicket between Agarwal and Gill when the former retired after scoring a dominating 151 (106) with the help of 18 fours and five sixes. Gill ended up scoring 86 (54) with the help of seven fours and five sixes as India A posted 458-4 in 50 overs. With bowling figures of 10-0-91-2, Ateeq Javid was the pick of the bowlers.
Somewhat similar to what happened in the first match, the Indian bowlers dismissed the opposition on 177 in 40.4 overs. Tom Wells, captain of Leicester, came in to bat at No. 5 and top-scored with 62 (93). His innings comprised of three fours and two sixes. With bowling figures of 6.4-0-24-3, Deepak Chahar was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors for the second time in a row.
