Bairstow leads England charge
From Mumbai 'A' bowlers firing all cylinders, reducing England to 66 for four wickets in the first session, to England's domination post lunch, the warm-up game at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium witnessed a contrast in fortunes on Friday. MVL Manikantan reports.
From Mumbai 'A' bowlers firing all cylinders, reducing England to 66 for four wickets in the first session, to England's domination post lunch, the warm-up game at the Dr DY Patil Sports Stadium witnessed a contrast in fortunes on Friday.
Jonny Bairstow scored 118 off just 177 balls, propelling England to 338 for six at the end of the first day. The visitors elected to bat first after winning the toss, with Nick Compton and Joe Root opening the innings.
Captain Alastair Cook was rested along with Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann and Tim Bresnan, while an injured Steve Finn made way for Graham Onions. Root, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar got a game while Jonny Bairstow overcame an injury scare to come in as the wicket-keeper.
Kshemal Waingankar led the pace attack and drew first blood when he knocked out Compton's off stump in the fifth over for a lone run. Then, Root and Trott put on a 50-run partnership and looked set. However Trott edged one back to the keeper, chasing a Javed Khan delivery outside off stump.
Soon after, Waingankar struck again as Ian Bell's misery continued when he was caught behind for just four runs.
Root played cautiously on a slow pitch but had to depart just before lunch.
Mumbai 'A' did not field their lone specialist spinner Sagar Gorivale, with Shikhar Dhawan and Yadav handling the spin department. But, the lack of a specialist spinner hurt Mumbai as England bounced back.
Morgan and Bairstow came together at the start of the second session and led a fast-scoring fight back, bringing up England's 100 within nine overs.
The duo shared a 156-run partnership of 241 balls as Mumbai 'A' ran out of options to peg the partnership. They consistently found the gaps and stole singles to ensure the scoreboard kept ticking.
Morgan was finally adjudged leg before in the last session to Shardul Thakur. But next man Samit Patel scored at quicker rate, bringing up his 50 in just 60 balls.
Scores: England XI 338/6 (Bair-stow 118, Morgan 76, Patel 59 no)