Mysuru: India ‘A’ got off to a steady start on the opening day of the four-day second Test Match against England Lions at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium (Gangothri Glades), Manasagangothri here this morning.

India ‘A’ captain K.L. Rahul won the toss and chose to bat without any hesitation on a placid wicket, perfect for batting.

Rahul opened the batting along with Abhimanyu Easwaran and after a sedate start, the duo found momentum and began to score runs freely.

India ‘A’ were 170 for no loss in 53 overs in the post-lunch session, with Rahul batting on 79 (159 balls) and Abhimanyu on 82 (160 balls), when we went to the press.

India ‘A’Team  

K.L. Rahul (Captain), Abhimanyu Easwaran, Priyank Panchal, Ankeet Bawne, Karun Nair, Siddhesh Lad, K.S. Bharat (Wicket-Keeper), Shahbaz Nadeem, Jalaj Saxena, Mayank Markande, Navdeep Saini, Varun Aaron.12th man – Ankeet Bawane.  

England Lions Team

Sam Billings (Captain), Thomas Bailey, Dominic Bess, Danny Briggs,  Zak Chappell , Ben Duckett, Lewis Gregory, Sam Hain, Max Holden, Ollie Pope (Wicket Keeper), Steven Mullaney. 12th  Man- James Potter.

Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope of England Lions have played test matches for England, while India ‘A’ Captain K.L. Rahul, Karun Nair and Varuna Aaron have represented India In test matches.

The match is played between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm in three sessions on all four days.

The four days game, which concludes on Feb.16 is all set to see a keen battle between the two teams.

The first four day test match between the two teams was  held at Wayanad, Kerala earlier this month ended in a draw, although India ‘A’ held an upper hand in most sessions of the match.