Devdutt Padikkal hit a stroke-filled 92 not out after right-arm pacer Akash Deep shone bright with the ball with a four-wicket haul as India A took control of the four-day second unofficial Test against England Lions on the opening day in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
England Lions' decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired big time as the Indian bowlers skittled the visitors out for 152 in 52.4 overs.
Akash Deep turned out to be the wrecker-in-chief, returning with figures of four for 46, while Yash Dayal (2/14) and off-spinner Washington Sundar (2/25) scalped two wickets apiece.
Oliver Price (48 off 81) was the top-scorer for England Lions, while Brydon Carse made 31.
England Lions' difficulty against the Indian attack was evident from the fact that as many as seven batters of the visiting side got out for single-digit scores.
Failure to build partnerships was the root cause for England Lions' downfall with the highest stand coming in between Price and Carse, who stitched together 43 runs for the seventh wicket.
In reply, the Indian opening duo of Padikkal and skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (53 not out off 96) found it easy against the English attack as they scored runs without much trouble to take the hosts to 150 for no loss.
India A now trail England Lions by just two runs to take an upper hand in the match.
Padikkal, in particular, was at his attacking best as he decorated his 96-ball unbeaten knock with 15 boundaries and demolished the English attack in the process.
Easwaran, on the other hand, played the second fiddle, giving Padikkal the perfect support from the other end.
Easwaran scored his runs off 96 balls with the help of six fours as the Indian openers scored at 4.68 runs per over.
Brief Scores:
England Lions: 152 all out in 52.4 overs (Oliver Price 48; Akash Deep 4/46).
India A: 150 for no loss in 32 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 92 not out, Abhimanyu Easwaran 53 not out).
