England’s batsmen had a good day out at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, replying strongly to India A’s 369 with captain Alastair Cook leading the way with a century. Jonathan Trott made a half-century and Samit Patel, promoted to bat at No.6, gave his captain good company, finishing the day unbeaten on 82.
India A had done well on the opening day and their innings lasted just one delivery on the second, as R Vinay Kumar was trapped in front by James Anderson. England suffered an early blow in their response, with Nick Compton edging to the wicketkeeper off Ashok Dinda in the second over. Cook and Trott, though, built a steady stand before the part-time off-spin of Suresh Raina accounted for Trott, breaking a partnership of 95.
A left-arm spinner, once again, brought about Kevin Pietersen’s downfall, as he was caught and bowled by Yuvraj Singh for a quick 23 that included three fours and a six. When Yuvraj dismissed Ian Bell for 5 in the 38th over, England were in a difficult situation at 133 for 4. Cook continued accumulating runs and Patel gave him good support, the pair batting 49 overs till the close to add 153. England finished the day on 286 for 4, just 83 adrift.
Scores: England XI 286 for 4 (Cook 112*, Patel 82*) trail India A 369 (Tiwary 93, Abhinav 73, Bresnan 3-59, Swann 3-90) by 83 runs.
Injured Finn out of India tour opener: England fast bowler Steven Finn could be a doubtful starter for the first Test against India after a thigh strain ruled him out for the rest of the ongoing tour opener on Wednesday.
Finn, 23, who was regarded as a certainty for the first Test in Ahmedabad from November 15, pulled up with a thigh strain on the opening day of the three-day game against India ‘A’ in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The beanpole Middlesex paceman bowled four overs before being injured while chasing a ball in the outfield and was confined to the dressing room for the rest of the day.
Scans later on Tuesday did not reveal any major damage but Finn was asked to sit out for the rest of the match to undertake a recovery programme set out by team doctors.
“Steven Finn has been ruled out of the remainder of the three-day game with a right thigh strain,” team spokeswoman Rhian Evans said.
“He will be assessed over the next couple of days to determine a rehabilitation programme.”
England are not calling in a replacement, but Finn may be required to play at least one of the two remaining warm-up matches to be considered for the Ahmedabad Test. The tourists take on Mumbai ‘A’ in a three-day game from Saturday and play state side Haryana in a four-day match in Ahmedabad from November 8.
Finn has played 16 Tests since his debut against Bangladesh in 2010, claiming 66 wickets at an average of 28.15. He has taken five wickets in an innings three times.
