India A lost the final match of the five-game unofficial one-day series by one wicket to the England Lions in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
Opting to bat, India A were bowled out for 121 in 35 overs. The hosts endured the worst of starts when KL Rahul was bowled first ball by pacer Lewis Gregory. Himmat Singh was dismissed shortly after and India A were 31/3 when captain Ankit Bawne was out for a 17-ball duck.
That brought wicket-keeper and in-form Rishabh Pant to the crease as he and Siddhesh Lad tried to steady the ship. Both batsmen, however, were dismissed in the 14th over by Jamie Overton with the score on 48. Lad top-scored for India A with an innings of 36.
The hosts were staring at the possibility of folding up for a double digit score when Shardul Thakur was dismissed with the score on 72/7. Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar put on 30 runs for the eighth wicket but the innings wrapped up quickly after Chahar was caught by keeper Alex Davies for a run-a-ball 21.
In response, England lost opener Will Jacks with the score on six, caught by Lad off Deepak Chahar’s bowling. After Thakur removed Davies for one, Chahar picked up the wickets of Sams, Hain and Billings to leave the Lions tottering at 43/4.
It was then that Player-of-the-match Ben Duckett, along with Steven Mullaney, steadied the ship for the visitors, putting on 44 for the fifth wicket. Mullaney’s dismissal, however, triggered a mini-collapse as the Lions lost four wickets for eight runs.
The visitors still needed eight runs more when Matthew Carter was the ninth man out with the score on 114. Duckett’s unbeaten 70 saved the day for the Lions as he struck the winning runs with a boundary off Rahul Chahar in the 31st over. Both Chahar brothers ended with three wickets apiece.