NEW DELHI: Despite England Lions making early inroads after winning the toss and opting to bowl first on Day 1 of the second unofficial Test in Northampton on Friday, India A ended the day at 319/7 in 83 overs, riding on strong contributions from KL Rahul, Karun Nair, and Dhruv Jurel after early setbacks.The morning session belonged to England Lions pacer Chris Woakes, who struck twice to remove openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (17) and captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (11), leaving India A at 40/2.KL Rahul, returning to longer-format cricket, played a composed knock. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Alongside Karun Nair, he added 86 runs for the third wicket before Nair was trapped lbw by Woakes for 40. Rahul went on to score a fluent 116 off 168 balls, laced with 15 boundaries, before falling to George Hill shortly after the team crossed the 250-run mark.Middle-order contributions from Dhruv Jurel (52) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (34) kept the scoreboard moving, but wickets fell at regular intervals in the final session.Shardul Thakur (19) was dismissed lbw by spinner Farhan Ahmed, while George Hill claimed two crucial wickets, including that of Jurel.India A ended the day on a balanced position, with Tanush Kotian (5 not out) and Anshul Kamboj (1 not out) at the crease. Despite a few middle-order collapses, they posted a competitive total on a pitch offering movement early on.
Woakes was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, finishing with 3/50, while George Hill supported well with 2/56.Brief Scores (Day 1):India A 319/7 in 83 overs (KL Rahul 116, Dhruv Jurel 52, Chris Woakes 3/50, George Hill 2/56) vs England Lions.
