England Lions finally ended the 5-match one-day series against India A on a good note by winning the last match by one wicket. India A had won the first four matches and had led the series 4-0 going into the final match at Greenfield Stadium, Trivandrum.
Ankeet Bawane, India A captain, won the toss and chose to bat first. However, the decision backfired, as India A was routed for 121 runs. Siddhesh Lad top-scored with 36, while Akshar Patel made 23 and Deepak Chahar made 21. KL Rahul was dismissed for a golden duck off the first ball of the match.
For England Lions, Jamie Overton picked 3/24, while Tom Bailey picked 2/23 and Lewis Gregory, Matthew Carter and Steven Mullaney chipped in with a wicket each.
If England Lions would have thought that the chase of the 122-run target would be a walk in the park, they were in for a surprise, as only two of their batsmen reached double figures, as Indian bowlers tried their level best to keep the Lions’ batsmen from reaching the target.
Sam Hain made 12, but the hero of Lions’ innings was Ben Duckett, who scored a brilliant 70* in 86 balls with 1 six and 10 fours. Rest of the batting lineup fell for single-digit scores and no.11 batsman Tom Bailey hung on for 11 balls, scoring one run and helping Duckett achieve the target in the 31st over.
The India A bowlers were at their best and cousins Deepak Chahar (3/25) and Rahul Chahar (3/43) were the standout performers with the ball. Akshar Patel picked 2/22 and Shardul Thakur took one wicket but was unable to keep Duckett from winning the match for Lions.
India A, however, won the series 4-1 and it will be a good thing going into the four-day phase of series. For Lions, this win will be a big boost going into the unofficial 2-Test match series against India A in Wayanad.
BRIEF SCORES:
IND A 121 (S LAD 36; J OVERTON 3/24) lost to ENG LIONS 125/9 (B DUCKETT 70*; D CHAHAR 3/25) by 1 wkt
India A won the 5-match series 4-1
