Flavour of the season
Rishabh Pant sizzled in his first ever match for India A and his smashing 59
off only 36 balls overshadowed senior pro Ajinkya Rahane’s compact 91 as a
new-look India A side cruised to a six-wicket victory over England in the
second warm-up game, here on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 283, India A knocked off the runs
in 39.4 overs. Sheldon Jackson 59 off 56 balls also did his bit adding 119 runs
for the opening stand with Rahane.
Senior pro Suresh Raina did the finisher’s job with a
45 off 34 balls. However it was Pant, whose performance was awaited and he
didn’t disappoint the CCI crowd as he hit eight fours and two huge sixes.Such
was his dominance that his contribution was 59 out of the 78 runs in only 8.4
overs that he added for the second wicket with Rahane. Rahane also showed no
signs of rustiness hitting 10 fours and a six in 83 balls. It was Deepak Hooda
(23) and Ishan Kishan(5) at the
crease.
Earlier, opting to bat first the England innings was
nurtured in the main by half centuries from opener Alex Hales (51) and Jonny
Bairstow (64) before it got into the mire against the home side’s spin attack.
They were finally revived by the last wicket pair of Adil Rashid and David
Willey who put on 71 runs.
Strangely Pant, who is a regular opener for Delhi in
ODIs and T20s along with IPL was demoted to No 3 but it did not dampen his
spirits. The left-handed Pant, who slammed pacer Jake Ball for two fours and a
short-arm pulled six in three successive balls, raced to his half century in
just 32 balls before impetuosity cost him his wicket. In trying to cart leggie
Adil Rashid, who he had hoisted over long on for his second six off his
previous delivery, the upcoming Delhi lad was caught at the same position after
adding 78 runs in 8.4 overs overs for the 2nd wicket with Rahane who watched
the youngster blast his way from the other end.
Which political party will win the Jharkhand Assembly elections 2024?