Northampton, June 7: India A pace bowling all-rounders Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy continued to dish out underwhelming performances as the England Lions made 192 for three at the end of second day of the second unofficial Test here on Saturday.
India A, overnight 319/7, were folded for 348 in their first innings, but fifties of Tom Haines (54, 88 balls) and Emilio Gay (71, 117 balls) helped the Lions to reduce the deficit to 156 runs when the stumps were drawn early because of bad light.
The Indian think-tank will be a tad concerned about the inability of Thakur and Reddy to take wickets, as both are in contention for the lone pace-bowling all-rounder’s slot in the India team for the five-match Test series against England.
In the first four-day match at Canterbury, Thakur took two wickets but leaked 105 runs in 28 overs while Reddy’s lone wicket came at the cost of 63 runs in 14.5 overs.
Here too, they did not show much improvement despite plenty of swing on offer.
Thakur bowled six wicketless overs, while Reddy, despite managing bit of swing occasionally, failed to take wickets in his six overs on the day.
However, England Lions batters, particularly Haines and Gay, made merry of a struggling India A attack to bring up respective fifties.
Haines added 94 runs for the second wicket with Gay in just 128 balls, and the ease of that alliance underlined the struggles of India A bowlers.
However, spinner Tanush Kotian was quite impressive while drawing false shots from the batters quite often, and his persistence was rewarded with the scalp of Gay, who looked set for a hundred.However, Jordan Cox (31 not out), who helped Gay milk 69 runs for the third wicket, appeared to have mastered the conditions and bowlers for a long haul on the third day Sunday.
Pacer Anshul Kamboj was impressive once again, looking sharp and picked up the wicket of opener Ben McKinney early in the innings.
In the opening session, the Lions bowlers took the new ball in the first available opportunity and finished off the India A innings, taking three wickets for 29 runs.
With two days still to play, the second unofficial Test hangs in a delicate balance, though England Lions have certainly gained the upper hand with the bat. For India A, the spotlight is now firmly on their misfiring pace-bowling all-rounders. With a high-stakes England Test series looming, the repeated ineffectiveness of both Shardul Thakur and Nitish Kumar Reddy will give the selectors and team management much to ponder. Their inability to capitalise on favourable swing conditions or trouble the batters consistently has raised serious questions about their match readiness and utility in the longer format.
Brief Scores: India A 1st innings: 348 all out vs England Lions 1st innings: 192/3 in 46 overs: (Tom Haines 54, Emilio Gay 71; Anshul Kamboj 1/38, Tushar Deshpande 1/44, Tanush Kotian 1/21). (PTI)
