Northampton [UK], June 8 : Four quick wickets from pacer Khaleel Ahmed (4/55) undid all hardwork put up by the top order as England Lions suffered a middle-order collapse, ending the first session on day three of their second unofficial Test against India A at Northampton on a poor note on Sunday.
England Lions ended the first session at 266/8, with Farhan Ahmed (12*) and Josh Tongue (14*) unbeaten, having brought their side past the 250-run mark following a horror show collapse. They trail India A by 82 runs.
England Lions started the three at 192/3, with wicketkeeper-batter Jordan Cox 31*, skipper James Rew 0* unbeaten after 46 overs.
Quick wickets from pacer Khaleel Ahmed put the Lions under sheer distress. Though they crossed the 200-run mark in 47.3, they lost their seven wickets for 229 runs, including Cox (45 in 65 balls, with seven fours), Rew (10), George Hill (0) and Chris Woakes (5).
Max Holden (7), who tried to stitch a partnership with Josh Tongue, also fell to Tushar Deshpande. Lions were 243/8 in 63.1 overs.
England Lions reached the 250-run mark in 64.3 overs.
Tongue and Farhan Ahmed proceeded with the innings, bringing down the deficit under 100 runs. They ended the session without any loss of wickets.
Earlier in their first innings, India had scored 348 runs after being put to bat first by the Lions. A century from KL Rahul (116 in 168 balls, with 15 fours and a six), a half-century from Dhruv Jurel (52 in 87 balls, with seven fours) and notable contributions from Karun Nair (40 in 71 balls, with four boundaries) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (34 in 57 balls, with five fours) put them in a good position.
Woakes (3/60) was the top bowler for the Lions while Tongue and Hill also took two wickets.
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