India A vs England Lions, 4th Unofficial ODI, Review: Rishabh Pant's aggressive knock on return helps hosts register another win

India A inched another step closer to clean sweep England Lions with a thumping win in the 4th unofficial ODI. Under the leadership of Ankit Bawne, the side registered a six-wicket win in the match. Rishabh Pant and Shardul Thakur were two of the best performers for the team on the day.

After winning the toss, England Lions’ skipper Sam Billings choose to bat first. However, some clinical bowling from the Indians put the visitors on the backfoot straightaway. Shardul Thakur sent both the openers back into the pavilion cheaply to start things off. Then, Rahul Chahar and Aven Khan dismissed Sam Hain and Ben Duckett for 13 and 3 runs respectively.

The stay in the middle for Billings was a tough one. He battled hard to score 24 runs before he was dismissed by Chahar on the 49th ball that he faced. Ollie Pope and Steven Mullaney, with timely half-centuries, helped in the revival. Pope took a lot of time in the middle but added a crucial 65 runs (103 balls) before he was run out.

Mullaney was there throughout the innings battling all alone after Pope’s dismissal in the 45th over. He scored a quickfire 58 off 54 balls even though his partners failed. This knock helped England Lions stretch the innings total to 221 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs. Thakur accounted for four wickets while Chahar picked two.

KL Rahul gets amongst the runs at last

In the chase, India A was hit by a big blow as they lost their opener Ruturaj Gaikwad for a first-ball duck. After this wicket fell, Ricky Bhui joined hands with Rahul and added 59 runs together. Bhui was the aggressor while Rahul took his own sweet time. Mullaney dismissed the former after he scored 35 runs off 42 balls.

Ankit Bawne also had a tough stay in the middle, just like his counterpart – Sam Billings. He scored 12 runs off 36 balls before he got out. Soon, Rahul also made his way back to the pavilion after scoring 42 runs. At this stage, Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda built a wonderful, match-winning partnership.

This duo stitched 120 runs together at a fair clip. In his comeback game, Pant registered a well-made half-century and thus made a statement to the selectors. He remained unbeaten on 73 off 76 balls while Deepak Hooda assisted him well with run-a-ball 47.

Brief Scores:

England Lions: 221/8 in 50 overs (Ollie Pope 65, Steven Mullaney 58*, Shardul Thakur 4/49)

India A: 222/4 in 46.3 overs (Rishabh Pant 73*, Deepak Hooda 47*, Will Jacks 2/35)

Result: India A won by 6 wickets.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from New Zealand vs India series, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.