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Karun Nair served a timely reminder to the Gautam Gambhir-led management with a classy, unbeaten 186 as India A cruised to 409 for 3 against a below-par England Lions on the opening day of the first ‘Unofficial’ Test on Friday.
Nair, known to bat either at No. 4 or below in First Class cricket, looked at ease at No. 3 during his 246-ball knock that made the Lions bowlers, including their Test star Rehan Ahmed, look completely pedestrian.
The Bengaluru batter, who now plays for Vidarbha, used his extensive experience, including that of playing for English county Northamptonshire en route to his 24th FC ton.
His innings was studded with 24 fours and one six, but it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time as Gambhir frets over his batting combination for the opening Test against England at Leeds, starting June 20.
Sarfaraz Khan (92 off 119 balls) blended a bit of muscle and a lot of cheekiness but missed out on a three-figure mark despite all the hard work.
The duo added 181 runs for the third wicket, and then Dhruv Jurel (82 batting, 104 balls) made merry during another 177-run stand for the unbroken fourth-wicket alliance.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (24 off 55 balls) played out the first hour even as Abhimanyu Easwaran (8) departed early.
The Lions’ attack didn’t have enough teeth to trouble most of the senior India stars. Conceding 51 boundaries and three sixes in 90 overs doesn’t make for a great reading.
The Canterbury County ground pitch had a greenish tinge but there was hardly any lateral movement on offer.
BRIEF SCORES
India A: 409/3 in 90 overs (Karun Nair 186 Batting; Sarfaraz Khan 92, Dhruv Jurel 82 Batting; Josh Hull 2/51)
