WORCESTER: India A struggled to 106 for four in 32 overs after veteran Alastair Cook’s marathon 180 powered England Lions to 423 all out on the second day of the only four-day unofficial Test here.
Young opener Prithvi Shaw top-scored with 62 for India A at the County Ground, but others such as Test specialist Murali Vijay, Mayank Agarwal and skipper Karun Nair failed to get going.
Looking to get some much-needed batting practice ahead of the upcoming Test series against England, Ajinkya Rahane was the unbeaten batsman at the crease along with Rishabh Pant.
Shaw struck eight boundaries in his 82-ball stay, which was cut short by Sam Curran. Fast-medium bowler Matthew Fisher took two wickets for England Lions.
India A were dealt their blow after reaching 37 and could not quite get a partnership going. Starting the day on 310 for two, the overnight pair of centurion Alastair Cook (154) and Dawid Malan (59) added 35 runs before Cook fell for 180 to Ankit Rajpoot, which ended a 181-run partnership for the third wicket.Malan, another current Test player, was the next to go as he was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj for 74 off 158 balls.
Malan hit nine boundaries while Cook found the fence 26 times during his 408-minute stay in the middle as Siraj was the most successful bowler for India A. (PTI)
