Mumbai, Oct 30: Manoj Tiwary led a fine batting display by India A, who were 369 for nine at stumps on day one of their practice match against England XI at the Brabourne Stadium here Tuesday.
Tiwary (93) top-scored for the home team with other substantial contributions coming from Abhinav Mukund (73), Yuvraj Singh (59) and Irfan Pathan (46).
Fast bowlers R. Vinay Kumar (25) and Parvinder Awana (11) were batting at close of the play. India A scored at an impressive 4.10 runs per over.
Speedster Tim Bresnan (3/59) was the pick of the bowlers for England, taking three wickets at an economy rate of 2.95. Off-spinner Graeme Swann too struck thrice while conceding 90 runs at 3.91.
All eyes were on Yuvraj, who is fighting for the No. 6 spot in the Test side alongside Suresh Raina.
Yuvraj eventually won the small battle over Raina (20), who is captaining India A in the match.
The southpaw smashed seven fours and four big ones in his 80-ball knock before being stumped off Swann.
Tiwary's effort was sublime and comprised 12 boundaries. Pathan, too, batted well towards the end.
The Indian team for the first Test against England will be picked Nov 5. The visitors play three warm-up games ahead of the four-Test series starting in Ahmedabad Nov 15.
