Uttar Pradesh's experienced spinner Saurabh Kumar's five-wicket haul was enough to help India A clinch a huge win against England Lions on Saturday. Thanks to their first innings score of 489, the hosts thrashed the travelling side by an innings and 16 runs in the second unofficial Test match at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium.
Trailing by 337 runs in the first innings, England were bowled out on just 321 runs on Day 4. Wicketkeeper batter Ollie Robinson and captain Josh Bohannon kept England alive in the game with impressive knocks but Indian bowlers proved too strong.
In-form batter Sarfaraz Khan claimed the Player of the Match award for his 161 off 160 balls knock in the first innings. Sarfaraz's fine form with the India A team has triggered the fans to question the BCCI selection committee for continuing to snub the Mumbai batter for the red-ball team selection.
Apart from Sarfaraz, Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal also recorded a quick hundred while captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, spin all-rounders Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar registered individual fifties to help India score a total of 489.
In bowling, Saurabh produced another impressive figure while Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep picked two wickets each. Akash also bagged four wickets in the first innings to continue to make an impact with the India A squad.
With a 1-0 lead in the series, India A will be playing their third and last match against England Lions at Narendra Modi Stadium starting on February 1.
India A Playing XI: Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Upendra Yadav (wk), Washington Sundar, Saurabh Kumar, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal
England Lions Playing XI: Keaton Jennings, Alex Lees, Josh Bohannon (c), Oliver Price, James Rew, Dan Mousley, Oliver Robinson (wk), Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Tom Lawes, Callum Parkinson
