New Delhi, June 9(HS): Khaleel Ahmed’s impressive four-wicket bowling, fighting lower-order innings from England Lions, and a significant partnership between KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Ishwaran have put India A in a strong position on the third day of the second unofficial Test on Sunday. By the end of the day, India A scored 163 runs for the loss of 4 wickets, achieving a total lead of 184 runs.Khaleel’s devastating bowling kept the Lions in trouble. Starting the day at 192/3, the England Lions struggled and were reduced to 243/8 as Khaleel Ahmed wreaked havoc. He consistently took wickets, helping India A make a strong comeback. However, Josh Tongue (36*) and Farhan Ahmed (24) displayed resilient batting from the lower order, pushing the team to a respectable total of 327.
Khaleel finished with impressive figures of 4/70.Rahul-Ishwaran partnership gained the lead. India A’s second innings began poorly as Yashasvi Jaiswal fell cheaply once again. But then KL Rahul (51) and Abhimanyu Ishwaran (80) built a crucial partnership of 88 runs. Rahul continued his excellent form after scoring a century in the first innings, contributing a half-century in the second.
Meanwhile, captain Ishwaran remained solid until the end, scoring a strong 80 runs. Karun Nair played some attractive shots but was dismissed for 15 runs. Play had to be stopped in the final moments of the day due to light issues, and Ishwaran also lost his wicket when he was caught at slip off a delivery from Woakes.Fluctuations in England Lions’ first innings Earlier in the morning session, Jordan Cox (45) and James Rew started well, hitting boundaries off Khaleel and Shardul, but Khaleel dismissed both, giving India A the lead. Shardul found swing but failed to take wickets. Tushar Deshpande and Anshul Kamboj later bowled effectively, wrapping up the innings by taking the last few wickets.
Score summary:India A: 348 and 163/4 (Abhimanyu Ishwaran 80, KL Rahul 51; Chris Woakes 2/31) England Lions: 327 (Emilio Gay 71, Tom Haines 54; Khaleel Ahmed 4/70) Overall lead for India A: 184 runs.
India A will look to apply pressure on England Lions and take a decisive lead on the fourth day.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
