Pant packs a punch as India A thrash England XI

Mumbai, January 12

Rishabh Pant’s smashing 59 off only 36 balls overshadowed Ajinkya Rahane’s compact 91 as India A cruised to a six-wicket victory over England XI in the second warm-up game here today.

Chasing a target of 283, India A knocked off the required runs in 39.4 overs. Sheldon Jackson (59 off 56 balls) also did his bit by adding 119 runs for the opening stand with Rahane. Suresh Raina provided the finishing touches with a 45 off 34 balls.

However, it was Pant who was the centre of attraction in this game and the Delhi youngster lived up to the expectations, smashing eight fours and two huge sixes in his brisk knock. In the 78-run partnership for the second wicket between him and Rahane, the youngster contributed 59 runs. While Pant was clearly far more dominant, Rahane also showed no signs of rustiness, hitting 10 fours and a six in his 83-ball knock. Strangely, Pant, who is a regular opener for Delhi in one-dayers  and T20s, was demoted to No. 3 but it did not dampen his spirits. The left-hander raced to his half-century in just 32 balls before impetuosity cost him his wicket. Earlier, the England innings was nurtured by half-centuries from opener Alex Hales (51) and Jonny Bairstow (64) before it was caught in the spin web. They were revived by a stand of 71 runs between Adil Rashid and David Willey. — PTI

Scoreboard

England XI 
J Roy hit wicket b Sangwan 25
A Hales c Rahane b Nadeem 51
J Bairstow c Pant b Dinda 64
E Morgan c&b Nadeem 0
B Stokes c Kishan b Rasool 38
J Buttler c&b Rasool 0
M Ali c Pant b Dinda 1
C Woakes b Rasool 16
A Rashid c Pant b Sangwan 39
L Plunkett c Pant b Kaul 8
D Willey not out 38
Extras: (W 2)
Total: (all out; 48.5 overs) 282
FOW: 1-42, 2-116, 3-116, 4-163, 5-164, 6-165, 7-190, 8-198, 9-211
Bowling
Sangwan 6.5-0-64-2
Kaul 6-0-31-1
Dinda 8-1-55-2
Nadeem 10-0-41-2
Vinay Kumar 7-1-47-0
Rasool 10-1-38-3
Hooda 1-0-6-0

India A 
A Rahane b Willey 91
S Jackson c Bairstow b Ali 59
R Pant c Hales b Rashid 59
S Raina c Hales b Ball 45
D Hooda not out 23
I Kishan not out 5
Extras: (W-1) 1
Total: (4 wickets; 39.4 overs) 283
FOW: 1-119, 2-197, 3-233, 4-268
Bowling
Woakes 7-1-54-0
Willey 5-0-32-1
Ball 6-0-46-1
Stokes 4.4-0-30-0
Rashid 7-0-51-1
Ali 7-0-46-1
Plunkett 3-0-24-0