Khaleel”s four-wicket burst sparks England Lions” collapse to 266/8 at lunch
Northampton (England), Jun 8 (PTI) Left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed produced a searing spell, claiming four wickets to leave England Lions reeling at 266 for 8 at lunch on day three of the second unofficial Test against India A here on Sunday.
Resuming at 192/3, the hosts lost four wickets for just 10 runs in the morning, with Khaleel removing skipper James Rew and George Hill off successive deliveries to trigger the collapse.
He went into the break with figures of 15-1-55-4. England Lions still trail by 82 runs in reply to India A’s first innings total of 348.
Seamer Tushar Deshpande (2/62) supported Khaleel well, claiming the key wicket of Max Holden (7 off 32), who was trying to rebuild the innings with Josh Tongue following the wobble.
The morning had started positively for England with Jordan Cox and Rew, unbeaten on 31 and 0 overnight, adding steady runs.
Cox picked up a boundary off Shardul Thakur, who drifted onto the pads, as the Lions looked comfortable.
But Khaleel sparked the collapse in the fifth over of the day, dismissing Cox just five short of his fifty.
After being pulled for four over midwicket, Khaleel responded with a hard-length delivery that angled away, forcing a faint edge behind in the 51st over.
Khaleel struck again in the 55th over to dismiss skipper Rew (10 off 27).
Next ball, Khaleel unleashed a scorching yorker to uproot George Hill’s off stump for a golden duck.
Khaleel, far more consistent with his lengths despite conceding a few early boundaries, continued the onslaught by getting Chris Woakes (5) caught behind in his next over.
After the drinks break, the Lions adopted a more watchful approach with Farhan Ahmed and Holden digging in and scoring in singles.
But Deshpande returned to break the stand, dismissing Holden with an incoming delivery that took an inside edge onto the stumps.
At the break, Tongue was unbeaten on 14 with Ahmed on 11.
Brief Scores: India A 348. England Lions 266/8; 71 overs (Emilio Gay 71, Tom Haines 54, Jordan Cox 45; Khaleel Ahmed 4/55, Tushar Deshpande 2/62). PTI TAP UNG
