Liam Dawson and Nick Gubbins starred with the ball and bat respectively as England Lions made a winning start to the A-team Tri-Series against India at the 3aaa County Ground in Derby.
Dawson took four for 30 from 10 overs, helping the hosts restrict the rampaging India A to 232 all out. India A had entered the game after registering emphatic wins in back-to-back warm-up games. However, those performances counted for little as England A cruised to a seven-wicket victory in the opening encounter of the tri-nation A series.
After Dawson’s heroics, Gubbins took the charge, anchoring the innings to perfection with an unbeaten 128. It took the Lions only 41.5 overs to chase down the modest total Gubbins’ innings was studded with 10 boundaries and two sixes. The chase was off to a poor start. Shardul Thakur sent back Tom Kohler-Cadmore for just seven. However, Gubbins added 134 for the second wicket with Sam Hain (54) and 61 for the third wicket with Liam Livingstone (27) to finish the match in style.
Indian spinners Krishnappa Gowtham (0/51 in 7 overs) and Krunal Pandya (0/57 in 8.5 overs) failed to impress at all. They not only went wicketless but also leaked runs while defending a small total.
Earlier in the game, Shreyas Iyer’s decision to bat first turned out to be a poor one. Unlike the warm-up games. the batsmen failed to deliver this time around.
Both in-form openers Prithvi Shaw (7) and Mayank Agarwal (24) found it tough to deal with the swing of Tom Helm (3/33) and Reece Topley (1/35). Both the players departed after edging behind the stumps to keeper Ben Foakes.
Iyer (42) and Rishabh Pant (64 off 78) then steadied the ship by adding 71 runs for the fourth wicket. However, Iyer and Vijay Shankar (0) fell in quick succession as India A once again found themselves on the backfoot. Pant waged a lone battle, scoring 64 off 55. However, lack of support from the other end did not help his and India A’s cause. When Pant departed, the scoreboard was reading 180 for 7. The visitors were ultimately all out for 232 in 46.3 overs.
Brief Scores:
India A 232 in 46.3 overs (Rishabh Pant 64 off 78 balls, Shreyas Iyer 42, Liam Dawson 4/30, Tom Helm 3/33) lost to
England Lions 233/3 in 41.5 overs (Nick Gubbins 128 no, Sam Hain 54).