Sai Sudarshan slams valiant 97 versus England Lions
India's batting sensation Sai Sudarshan was unfortunate to miss out on his third First-Class century. The left-handed opener scored a valiant 97 off 208 balls in the fourth innings of the ongoing unofficial Test against England Lions. Notably, the India A batter bagged a golden duck in his first outing in the game. His 97 was laced with 13 boundaries. Here are further details.
A fine effort from Sudarshan
Chasing 490 in Ahmedabad, India A lost two wickets with just six runs on the board. Sudarshan then bailed his time out of trouble with half-century stands with Sarfaraz Khan (55) and Pradosh Ranjan Paul (43). As India's win is highly unlikely, Sudarshan batted with a defensive approach. He, however, fell prey to left-arm spinner Callum Parkinson and missed out on a hundred.
1,000 FC runs loading for Sudarshan
Playing his 15th FC game, Sudarshan has raced to 989 runs with his average being 38-plus. While this was his fourth half-century, the tally includes a couple of tons as well. He made his international debut in the ODI series against South Africa last month. The batter smashed half-centuries in his first two outings to finish the three-match series with 127 runs at 63.5.
How has the game panned out?
Centuries from Keaton Jennings (154) and skipper Josh Bohannon (125) helped England Lions declare their first innings at 553/8. India could only manage 227 in reply as Rajat Patidar (151) fought alone with a ton. Jennings (64) and James Rew (56*) starred as England declared at 163/6 in their second outing. India need to bat out the ongoing final day to earn a draw.
