Tour Match: India 'A' v England XI at Jaipur, 27-29 Nov 2001 CricInfo Live Report

Tour Match: India 'A' v England XI at Jaipur, 27-29 Nov 2001
Samanth Subramanian & Santhosh S

England XI 1st innings: Stumps - Day 1,
India 'A' 1st innings: Lunch - Day 1, Tea - Day 1, End of India 'A' innings,
Pre-game: Toss and Teams,

ENGLAND PROGRESS COMFORTABLY TO STUMPS

Unlike India A's catastrophic start, England's openers looked extremely comfortable against the opening bowlers. Michael Trescothick looked at absolute ease, driving confidently on the up through the off-side.

Mark Butcher, appearing to be in good form, also negotiated Iqbal Siddiqui and Dodda Ganesh with ease, defending anything on the line of the stumps, driving deliveries pitched up, and cutting the wayward short stuff.

The Indian pacers, for their part, did not seem to know how to bowl on a green-top. Bowling either too short or too full, they offered both Butcher and Trescothick a chance to free their arms. Spin, in the form of Sunil Joshi, also failed to effect the breakthrough, and England ended the day on 37/0, with Butcher on 32 and Trescothick on 5.

ENGLAND SKITTLE OUT INDIA 'A' LOWER ORDER

Kale and Ratra continued slowly after tea, inching their way towards the 200-run mark. The former reached his century in style off a Richard Dawson over, striking the off-spinner for six over mid-on. The hundred came off 192 deliveries with nine fours and that lone six.

That flash of aggression past, Kale retreated into his shell. The 99-run seventh-wicket partnership only ended when the centurion, pushing forward at a flighted Dawson delivery, was caught at short-leg off bat and then pad. The umpire, unwilling to make a hasty decision, seemed to hesitate, but Kale removed all doubt by walking, having made 122 off 221.

Ashley Giles struck in the very next over, having Ratra snaffled by 'keeper Foster for 26. When skipper Sunil Joshi was trapped in front by Dawson a few overs later, he declared the innings closed at 233/9.

KALE HOLDS INNINGS TOGETHER AT JAIPUR

It was Abhijit Kale who blossomed after lunch, striking boundaries off the quicks on either side of the wicket. The 100-run partnership came up in 36th over, a fighting effort after Richard Johnson rocked the top-order in his first spell.

Flintoff gave Kale a fright when he made one bounce and hold its line. Kale, demonstrating a lack of technique, failed to drop his hands; the ball took the edge of the bat and flew over the heads of slips for four. The very next ball kept low, foretelling a surface that might become viciously double-paced in the days to come.

Khoda lost his wicket precisely to that nature of the pitch. A Flintoff delivery barely rose off the pitch and, to compound matters, slipped eel-like through the gap between bat and pad to knock off-stump out and dismiss Khoda for a well-made 64.

Kale reached his own half-century shortly after, driving Johnson sweetly through the covers in the 41st over. Three overs later, Flintoff struck again, sending Reetinder Singh Sodhi back, caught behind off the faintest of edges.

The fall of two wickets in quick succession did little to affect Kale's concentration. Playing with the same tenacity, Kale shrugged off edges and appeals, picking the bad balls to hit and defending stoutly otherwise. He was especially impressive against Giles, using his feet to great effect.

Kale and Ajay Ratra saw India 'A' safely to tea, eschewing undue aggression and opting instead for safety in almost all cases save when a rush of blood prompted them to have a swipe at one of the spinners or a flash outside off-stump to a medium-pacer.

At tea, India 'A' were 178/6, with Kale on 83 and Ratra on 12.

KHODA, KALE CONSOLIDATE AFTER EARLY SHOCKS

The third ball of the day saw England strike for the first time. Vinayak Mane, looking to come on to the front foot on a pitch that called, at least initially, for some solid back-foot play, edged a ball from Richard Johnson for 'keeper James Foster to pouch the catch comfortably.

Just two balls later, Yere Goud made a similar mistake, tentatively going forward to a delivery that nipped back in, took the inside edge and crashed into the stumps.

Johnson, in his second over, struck again with a delivery that pitched on middle and off and just seamed in to beat Gautam Gambhir's uncertain bat. Struck in front, he was given out by the umpire with little hesitation.

It was then time for Andrew Flintoff to take centre stage. In only the fourth over of the innings, RR Parida looked to duck a ball that ended up passing him at only chest height. Caught mid-way in his crouch, Parida hung his bat in front, only for the ball to kiss the edge on the way to Foster.

India 'A' plodded along after those four strikes, unwilling to risk a stroke that would push their side deeper into the mire. On a slow outfield, the boundaries were also difficult to come by.

The appearance of Asley Giles immediately after the drinks break excited some interest. The left-arm spinner, bowling with nice loop and some turn, could not, however, get the bite that is so essential for a spinner. Abhijit Kale and Gagan Khoda consequently played him with more comfort than the medium-pacers; Giles, for his part, kept the runs down, conceding only seven runs in his first four overs.

Local boy Khoda, known for his attacking batsmanship, opened out only in the 27th over, taking 10 runs off a Giles over. He reached his half-century in the last over before lunch, Richard Dawson's first, off 89 balls, striking seven sweetly-timed boundaries in his knock.

At lunch, India 'A' were 88/4, recovering somewhat from the initial collapse but with still some distance to go.

HUSSAIN ELECTS TO BOWL ON A GREEN-TOP

English captain Nasser Hussain, winning his third toss in a row, opted to bowl on a pitch that, to all intents and purposes, could barely be distinguished from the outfield. Covered with grass that promises to help the seamers early on, the pitch must have seemed like a boon to an English side that has played on slow turners so far.

With Graham Thorpe ill, Michael Vaughan gets another chance to find some form with the bat. England also left out Matthew Hoggard and James Ormond, bringing in medium-pacer Richard Johnson and left-arm spinner Ashley Giles. Giles, in particular, is looking to prove his fitness out in the middle to ensure selection for the first Test at Mohali.

The India 'A' side also has members looking to impress selectors ahead of the Tests. Openers Vinayak Mane and Gautam Gambhir will be hoping to partner Shiv Sunder Das at Mohali, while captain Sunil Joshi will want to bag the empty slot of left-arm spinner.

Teams:

England: Nasser Hussain (capt), Richard Johnson, Ashley Giles, Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan, Matthew Trescothick, Mark Ramprakash, Mark Butcher, James Foster (wicket-keeper), Richard Dawson, Craig White.

India A: Sunil Joshi (capt), Gagan Khoda, Vinayak Mane, Gautam Gambhir, Yere Goud, RR Parida, Abhijit Kale, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Ajay Ratra (wicket-keeper), Dodda Ganesh, Iqbal Siddiqui.