India A Bowlers Struggle To Take Wickets On Day 2 Of 2nd Unofficial Test
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In the first four-day match at Canterbury, Thakur took two wickets but leaked 105 runs in 28 overs while Reddy's lone wicket came at the cost of 63 runs in 14.5 overs.
India A pace bowling all-rounders Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy continued to deliver underwhelming performances as the England Lions reached 192 for three at the end of the second day of the second unofficial Test on Saturday.
India A, starting the day at 319/7, were bowled out for 348 in their first innings. However, fifties from Tom Haines (54 off 88 balls) and Emilio Gay (71 off 117 balls) helped the Lions reduce the deficit to 156 runs when play ended early due to bad light.
The Indian think-tank might be concerned about Thakur and Reddy's inability to take wickets, as both are in contention for the lone pace-bowling all-rounder slot in the Indian team for the five-match Test series against England.
In the first four-day match at Canterbury, Thakur took two wickets but conceded 105 runs in 28 overs, while Reddy's sole wicket came at the cost of 63 runs in 14.5 overs.
In this match, despite the favorable swing conditions, Thakur bowled six wicketless overs, and Reddy, although occasionally managing some swing, also failed to take wickets in his six overs.
Meanwhile, the England Lions' batters, particularly Haines and Gay, capitalized on India A's struggling attack to score their fifties.
Haines and Gay added 94 runs for the second wicket in just 128 balls, highlighting the challenges faced by the India A bowlers.
Spinner Tanush Kotian impressed by frequently drawing false shots from the batters and was rewarded with Gay's wicket when he seemed set for a hundred.
Jordan Cox (31 not out) partnered with Gay to add 69 runs for the third wicket and seemed well-set to continue his form into the third day on Sunday.
Pacer Anshul Kamboj was impressive again, looking sharp and taking the wicket of opener Ben McKinney early in the innings.
In the opening session, the Lions bowlers took the new ball at the first opportunity and wrapped up the India A innings, taking three wickets for 29 runs.
Brief Scores: India A 1st innings: 348 all out vs England Lions 1st innings: 192/3 in 46 overs: (Tom Haines 54, Emilio Gay 71; Anshul Kamboj 1/38, Tushar Deshpande 1/44, Tanush Kotian 1/21).
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First Published:
June 07, 2025, 22:33 IST
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