India A vs ENG Lions Day 3: Tom Haines-Max Holden partnership takes England Lions to 333/5, reduces trail to 224

Canterbury [UK], June 1 (ANI): A 181-run partnership between Tom Haines and Max Holden provided an upper hand to England Lions against the India A side as they scored 333/5 in 75 overs at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury on Sunday.

At the end of the first session on Day 3, England Lions were 333/5 in 75 overs with Tom Haines (142*) and Dan Mousley (2*) unbeaten on the crease. The side still trail by 224 runs in reply to India A's total of 557.

The England Lions began the day from 237/2 in 52 overs with Haines (103*) and Max Holden (64*) unbeaten on the crease.

In the 56th over, the English side crossed the 250-run mark as Holden slammed a boundary on the bowling of right-arm seamer Harshit Rana.

Ten overs later, on the last ball of the 66th over, the England Lions completed their 300 as Haines smashed a boundary off pacer Mukesh Kumar's bowling.

In the 67th over, Holden brought up his century as he took a single on the first ball of the over, which was bowled by Shardul Thakur.

In the 68th over at the score of 312, Mukesh Kumar sent Max Holden back to the pavilion. Before going back, the left-hand batter scored 101 runs off 101 balls, which came with the help of 12 fours and a six.

After the loss of Holden's wicket, the England Lions lost the next two wickets inside 14 runs in quick succession.

Team captain James Rew (8) and Rehan Ahmed (3) were not able to make their mark as they were sent back to the dressing room cheaply.

Following the loss of these two wickets, England team's score was 326/5 in 73.2 overs. The next batter came out to bat was Dan Mousley.

Till the end of the first session on the third day, Haines and Mousley built an unbeaten partnership of seven runs.

Earlier on Day 2, a majestic double century from Karun Nair and impactful innings from Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan powered India A to a mammoth 557-10 in 125.1 overs, on Day 2 of the first unofficial test against England Lions in Canterbury on Saturday.

After Karun Nair's onslaught ended on 204, England Lions capitalised on the opportunity and Zaman Akhter removed Shardul Thakur after scoring 27 off 32.

Harsh Dubey and Anshul Kamboj stood on the wicket for ten overs before Josh Hull removed Dubey for 32 off 47 in the 120th over.

From there, England bowlers bowled out Indian batters in five overs. The pick of the bowlers for the hosts were Josh Hull (3/72 in 20 overs) and Zaman Akhter (3/73 in 20.1 overs), who snapped three wickets each in their respective spells.

There were other bowlers among the wicket-takers as well. Two wickets were grabbed by Eddie Jack (2/75 in 20 overs), and one wicket each was bagged by Ajeet Dale (1/99 in 25 overs) and Rehan Ahmed (1/144 in 27 overs) in the first innings.

Brief Scores: India A 557/10 in 125.1 overs (Karun Nair 204, Dhruv Jurel 94; Josh Hull 3/72) vs England Lions 333/5 in 75 overs (Tom Haines 142*, Max Holden 101; Mukesh Kumar 3/56). (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)