Rajat Patidar played an astonishing lone hand as India A struggled against England Lions, notching a second successive century for the representative side at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India A v England Lions scorecard
England’s second-string carried their authoritative batting performance from day one into day two, with captain Josh Bohannon carrying on to a century and Dan Mousley and Jack Carson contributing fifties. Matt Potts made an unbeaten 44 before England Lions declared on 553-8.
India A crumbled in reply. Matthew Fisher claimed four wickets in his first four overs before a Potts double-strike left them reeling on 50-6.
A two-day finish looked possible with India A still more than 350 runs short of the follow-on threshold, but Patidar ensured his side batted out the day, while also scoring at above a run a ball.
Particularly severe on the spinners, he dominated the scoring more and more as the innings progressed, culminating in an unbroken 69-run stand with No.10 Navdeep Saini, who contributed three off 11.
Matt Fisher on fire this morning! ✊
🔥 @9M_Fisherpic.twitter.com/pqNvdwUjXa
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) January 18, 2024
Patidar hit 18 fours and five sixes, reaching stumps on 140 not out off 132 balls, over 65 per cent of India A’s 215-8. He has an outside chance at a notable record, with Namibia’s 282 against Kenya in 2008 the lowest first-class total to include a double century (Gerrie Snyman: 230).
Patidar, 30 years old, has played one ODI for India, but has bolstered his case significantly in recent weeks, with this innings coming on the back of a century for India A in the two-day warm-up that preceded the unofficial Test series.
Despite Patidar’s heroics, England Lions are firmly on top, leading by 328 runs with two days to play. Left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson contributed two wickets after the opening burst, but Brydon Carse and Jack Carson, who conceded 42 runs each from seven and four overs respectively, were expensive and wicketless.
KS Bharat, the only player in either side included in the squads for the India-England Test series, managed 15 off 13 before being dismissed by Potts.
