India A added 12 more runs to their overnight total to be bowled out for 227 in the first innings of the first Test against England Lions today (January 19) and now need 331 more runs with six wickets in hand to avoid defeat in Ahmedabad.
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India A v England Lions scorecard
England continued their stronghold in the game after dismissing the hosts for 227, needing only seven overs in the first session to send back the last two India A batters to take a mammoth 326-run lead. Patidar, who resumed on 140, reached his 150 before falling to Matthew Potts, becoming one of his four victims. The fact that no other batter from the side could make more than 25 highlights how dominant the Madhya Pradesh right-hander was.
Patidar’s knock contained 19 fours and five sixes, scoring his 151 runs in 158 deliveries.
England Lions resisted the temptation to ask India A to follow on, deciding to bat a second time. Keaton Jennings, who blitzed 154 in the first innings, continued in the same attacking tone, scoring 64 off 65 deliveries. Despite Alex Lees and Josh Bohannon falling in the space of seven balls, India A were never in with a chance as Jennings kept the momentum going at the other end.
He combined with James Rew to take the score from 21-2 to 115 before he became Pradosh Ranjan Paul’s third first-class victim. The Odisha wicketkeeper also sent back Dan Mousley as England lost three wickets for 36 runs. They eventually declared at 163-6, leaving India A with a target of 490 runs.
In reply, India A saw skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran fall for a duck in just the first over as Potts continued his dominance in the game. He returned to send back first innings centurion Patidar before Sarfaraz Khan and opener Sai Sudharsan stitched together 86 runs, with both batters getting to their respective fifties.
By the end of day three, England Lions had Sarfaraz and Paul back in the pavilion as well, needing six more wickets on the last day to take a series lead. India A need 331 runs more.
