Billed as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s last match as the captain of an Indian team, England XI beat India A by three wickets in the first warm-up match at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
England won the toss and opted to field. Dhoni led the team out for the last time as his side reached a target of 304 in their allotted 50 overs. Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh smashed fifties as Ambati Rayudu hit an amazing century. However, the loudest cheer was in store for Dhoni, who came out to bat and did not disappoint. He smashed an unbeaten 40-ball 68 which included eight fours and two towering sixes.
England had an amazing start with Jason Roy (62) and Alex Hales (40) putting on 95 for the opening stand. However, Sam Billings was England’s hero hitting 93 with Jos Butler and Liam Dawson chipping in with 46 and 41 respectively. India tried to pull things back towards the end, but it was a little too late. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers taking five wickets. In the end, it was an easy win for England. The second warm-up match will take place on January 12 at the same venue.
Brief scores:
India A 304/5 in 50 overs (Ambati Rayudu 100, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 68; David Willey 2/55, Jake Ball 2/61) lost to England XI 307/7 in 48.5 overs (Sam Billings 93, Jason Roy 62; Kuldeep Yadav 5/60, Hardik Pandya 1/48) by three wickets.
