From losing half the side for 91 in 13 overs to posting 442/9, the young Indian lower-middle order showed how its done in England on June 24. Captain Ayush Mhatre and star opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi fell cheaply but 70s from Rahul Kumar, Kanishk Chouhan and RS Ambrish followed by Harvansh Pangalia's unbeaten 52-ball 103 helped India Under-19 post a mammoth total of 442/9. The visitors bowled out Young Lions Invitational XI for 211 and won the warm-up game by a huge margin of 231 runs in Loughborough, which is approximately 140 km away from Headingley, Leeds, where India's senior team won the opening Test.
Half the side returns before 100
Young Lions captain Will Bennison won the toss and opted to bowl first. The move seemed to work as Jay Singh knocked over Mhatre with the first ball he bowled. Suryavanshi hit two fours and a six in his 13-ball 17 before falling to Matthew Firbank. Vihaan Malhotra (31-ball 39) and Maulyarajsinh Chavda (18-ball 23) got starts but fell to Manny Lumsden. Wicketkeeper-batter Abhigyan Kundu departed for a single-digit score to Joe Heywood. India U19 found themselves struggling at 91/5 in the 13th over.
3 fifties and then a quickfire century
Kumar and Chouhan shared a 140-run partnership for the sixth wicket. The partnership was broken by Firbank with Kanishk's wicket. He scored 79 runs from 67 balls, including five fours and as many sixes. A few overs later, Rahul lost his wicket for a 60-ball 73 to Firbank. Ambrish was joined by Pangalia in the 36th over of the innings. Ambrish and Pangalia went berserk against young English bowlers. Ambrish fell for a 47-ball 72 but Pangalia went on to score a blazing century. Ambrish hit six fours and four sixes in his 47-ball 72 before getting bowled by Firbank.
Lumsden got a wicket in the final over but it did not stop Pangalia from scoring 20 runs in last four balls. No.11 batter Henil Patel took a single off the first ball he faced to get Pangalia on strike. The set batter hit eight fours and nine sixes in his 52-ball 103. The visitors posted 442/9.
Captain fights lone battle
In the run chase, Young Lions lost the wicket of opener Oliver Curtiss to Yudhajit Guha in the third over. Skipper Bennison and Owen Smith shared a 67-run partnership which was broken by Ambrish. Smith scored 28 runs from 30 balls. In the next over, Deepesh Devendran struck twice to dismiss Caleb Falconer and Hope Bell for their respective ducks. The last thing Young Lions wanted was a run out but Chouhan cought Seth Essenhigh short of the crease in the 20th over. Naman Pushpak joined the party and dismissed Joe Hawkins, Luke Hands off consecutive deliveries.
Bennision was dismissed in the 36th over by Malhotra but not before he reached his century. The captain scored 103 runs from 105 balls, including 14 fours and a six. Deepesh and Malhotra took one wicket each to bowl out Young Lions for 211 in 41.1 overs as India A registered a massive 231-run victory.
Note - As many as 15 players from each side participated in the warm-up encounter. The One-Day series will begin on June 27.