It was a dominating batting display from the Indian a top-order batters that helped the side end the day on a high against England Lions on Day 1 of the unofficial Test match in Canterbury.
India A finished on 409 runs for three wickets with Karun Nair's unbeaten 186 runs off 246 balls being the highlight of the innings. Roped into the Indian Test side for the England Test series, he made a statement with the bat as one of the contenders to replace Virat Kohli at number four.
Sarfaraz Khan (92 runs off 119 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (82 runs off 104 balls) also made the most of the good batting conditions at the ground. In the process, they have also made a statement with the bat.
India A Dominate Proceedings On Day 1
England Lions won the toss and opted to bowl first. They dismissed India A skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (8 runs off 17 balls) as the visitors lost their first wicket inside the seventh over. Yashasvi Jaiswal (24 runs off 55 balls) was then dismissed on the team score of 51.
Karun Nair and Sarfaraz Khan then joined hands for the third wicket and added a 181-run stand for the third wicket. Both the batters batted with intent and batted for the entire lunch and tea sessions to put India into a position of strength. It was a chanceless partnership between the two Indian batters as they made the England bowlers toil hard.
For Sarfaraz, who is not a part of the Indian Test side for the England series, the knock should help him to stay in contention in case the team needs a replacement player. Nair, on the other hand, stayed unbeaten and made the most of the given opportunity.
The knock should see him replace Virat Kohli atleast in the first Test at Headlingley given the kind of innings he played. His previous experience of playing county cricket was also showcased in some of the shots he played in his innings. He ended his IPL season with some runs and brought his form into this four-day game.
It was a tough day at the office for the India A bowlers with all of them going for runs. Left-arm pacer Josh Hull picked up two wickets for 51 runs. Right-arm pacer Edward Jack picked up one wicket for 51 runs. Rehan Ahmed, who has previously played Test cricket for England against India, went for 95 runs from his 16 overs.
Also Read: Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan Makes Statement On India A Return vs England Lions
India A Will Look To Target 600
On the back of a good first day's play and a lot of batting to come, the Indian batters should target a minimum of 600 runs as they resume their innings on Day 2. With Nair approaching a double century and a hundred in the offering for Jurel, the lower-order batters will also look to score some runs.
India have decided to field an all-pace attack for the practice game. The likes of  Shardul Thakur, Harsh Dubey, Anshul Kamboj, Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar should look to hunt for wickets.
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