Ishan Kishan, the wicket-keeper batsman led the Board President’s XI to two wins on the row against England Lions last week. Then, on Wednesday, he produced a match-winning cameo (57 not out off 48 balls) to help India ‘A’ beat England Lions by three wickets in the first of the five-match one-day series.
For England Lions, captain Sam Billings scored a clinical century (108) to put up a challenging total of 285 for seven on the board. India ‘A’ were behind the required rate for the most part of their chase but the depth of their batting line-up came to the fore on a humid day as they reached the target in 49.1 overs losing seven wickets. Captain Ajinkya Rahane (59) and Anmolpreet Singh (33) gave India ‘A’ a steady start scoring 66 for the first wicket. After Singh's departure, Shreyas Iyer came in and played aggressively. He found a liking to the spinners and hit three sixes in his 45 off 52 balls.
Brief scores: England Lions: 285/7 in 50 overs (Sam Billings 108 no, Alex Davies 54 no; Siddharth Kaul 3/54, Mayank Markande 2/ 45, Axar Patel 2/52) lost to India ‘A’: 288/7 in 49.1 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 59, Ishan Kishan 57 no, Shreyas Iyer 45, Anmolpreet Singh 33; Zak Chappell 3/84, Danny Briggs 2/31, Lewis Gregory 2/45) by 3 wickets.
