India A tour of England and Scotland 2010 : Pujara to lead

[Gunner_Mania]

Mukund gone for 68:(( btw,is the pic in OP of these games?why r they wearing older kit?

because the BCCI didnt get any sponsorers for the A team. When I saw them playing the 4 days game at leicester against the Windies, they did not even have sponsors logo on their whites.

[Karan114]

Unadkat dismissed Cook 19/1

[Sachinism]

Need to keep making breakthroughs

[Sachinism]

Need to keep pushing that RRR up

[saneindian]

Tactical error from Pujara there. The lead spinner Abdullah should have been bowling ahead of Tiwary. 148/3 in 30 overs, game is in balance right now. We need to pick a couple of wickets to put them under more pressure.

[Sachinism]

Unadkat bowls Bopara :aha:

[saneindian]

109 runs needed off 90 balls. Need to bowl a few tight overs here. A couple of quick wickets won't be too bad either.

[saneindian]

Again poor tactics. Dhawan has bowled well but doesnt get to bowl, Abdullah is leaking runs and continues to bowl. 68 runs needed in 60 balls .Match tilting in favour of the Lions now. We need to break this partnership.

[Sachinism]

58 off 48 Need to keep taking wickets

[Sachinism]

2 runs and a wicket from that jaskaran over

[Sachinism]

3 runs off the abdulla over 55 needed in 42

[Sir john]

India lose at last.

[Mamu]

The Big Disappointments of the tour were Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary ( I serisouly do not want to see this guy again) and Iqbal Abdullah.

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England Lions win Triangular series defeating India A by five wickets Andrew Gale and Darren Stevens shone with the bat as England Lions won the Triangular Series following a five-wicket win over India A at Worcester. More... Gale blows Lions to series win 8 July 2010 Andrew Gale's patient 90 from 114 balls was the mainstay of a successful run chase which clinched the series win Andrew Gale and Darren Stevens shone with the bat as England Lions won the Triangular Series following a five-wicket win over India A at Worcester. Chasing 279 to win the final, Gale's patient 90 was the mainstay of a perfectly-paced chase although Darren Stevens provided some impetus with a characteristic blood and thunder innings of 68 as England Lions won with eight balls remaining. It was the Kent batsman's third half-century of the series and despite Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott grabbing the headlines, Stevens' average of 80 puts those three in the shade. However, England made a disastrous start in their chase when they lost Alastair Cook for four in the second over, leg before as he tried to work a straight ball from Jayadev Unadkat into the legside. But Steven Davies, displaying immaculate timing, and a watchful Gale adopted different tactics as they started to piece the innings together. Davies, playing at his former ground, looked as comfortable as a city worker returning home to his favourite pipe and slippers as he clipped and punched sweetly either side of the wicket. He reached an exquisite 50 off 52 balls, raising his bat after pulling one of nine boundaries towards the famous cathedral - but that would be his last contribution as he was caught and bowled for 55. At 80 for two after 17 overs, India A must have sighed at the sight of Ravi Bopara marching down the steps of the Graeme Hick Pavilion and his arrival at the crease spurred Gale to slip into a higher gear. Sweeping powerfully against the spinners but also employing deft glances and the occasional reverse, Gale traded boundaries with Bopara as England Lions rattled along at five runs an over. The pair took boundaries off Manoj Tiwary, Bopara striking a luscious drive and Gale timing a pull, to take the score to 127 for two at the end of the 26th over. Gale brought up his half-century from 71 balls but he lost Bopara soon after, the Essex man missing a straight ball from the returning Unadkat that careered into off stump. Hearts were in mouths next ball, though, when Darren Stevens, shuffling back and across, survived a huge shout for leg before. Undeterred by the close call, the in-form Stevens marched on with Gale who was now in full stride. Running hard between the wickets and hitting boundaries regularly, both batsmen tucked into the slow bowling with Gale paddling cutely and Stevens a bit more brutal with anything dropped short. Each hit fours off the increasingly angry Jaskaran Singh to bring the required runs needed to 68 from 10 overs. However, India A were given a lifeline two overs later when Gale, 10 short of a deserved century, nicked Singh behind. But that was merely the catalyst for Stevens to call for the powerplay and open his broad shoulders. He danced down the wicket to Singh and smashed him for six over long-on, a shot which took him to 51 although he did not register the landmark, perhaps being too focused on the job at hand. Two balls later he gave himself room to squirt a four through the covers as the victory post came in sight. Having made 68 from just 53 balls and taken England Lions to 260 for four, he holed out in front of the Basil D'Oliveira Stand but the damage was already done by then. The pesky James Taylor, whose scampering between the wickets is a real feature of his game, promptly swept Iqbal Abdulla for six to allay any fears of a late collapse. Earlier in the day Stephen Parry took 3-48 on his England Lions debut as India A set England Lions a tough chase at a sunny New Road. England Lions were given a boost at the start of the day when Cook, who missed the previous three matches with a back injury, was passed fit to lead the side. Two days after the same two teams played out a thrilling tie in which India A scrambled a bye off the final ball, Cook won the toss and opted to bowl first on a new wicket. He might have had a few regrets as Abhinav Mukund and Shikhar Dhawan tore into the new ball, the pair displaying a penchant for anything full which would be dispatched with an elegant drive. One straight drive from Mukund off Sajid Mahmood evaded the diving pair of Gale and Parry, the ball squeezing through outstretched hands like a busy London commuter diving through closing tube doors. Dhawan looked the more dangerous of the two and consecutive boundaries in the seventh over off the unusually erratic Chris Woakes suggested the left-hander was set for something big. With the 50 coming up in the eighth over, Dhawan continued his onslaught on Woakes, creaming another pull to the boundary as the Warwickshire man's normally reliable slower ball deserted him. But after reaching 39 from just 30 deliveries, he was dismissed by a fired-up Liam Plunkett, Dhawan getting a nick down leg from an attempted pull with Davies diving to take a fine catch. The home side were celebrating another wicket in the 15th over as India A were reduced to 90 for two when Ajinkya Rahane heaved Mahmood to deep midwicket where Peter Trego, careful not to touch the boundary rope, took a well-judged catch. The wicket brought in India A's graceful captain Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been the outstanding batsman in this competition and he lived up to the billing. But before he could unfurl his array of attractive shots, Parry claimed the first of three wickets on an impressive first outing for the Lions. He first dismissed Mukund for 62 with Trego taking another excellent catch as England Lions began to squeeze the runs during the middle overs. Parry worked well in tandem with the miserly Trego who, despite being wicketless, conceded just 37 from 10 overs. Parry picked up another wicket in the 36th over, Stevens this time pouching another skied catch at long-on, and it was not long until the 24-year-old was picking up his third wicket with Wriddhiman Saha leg before sweeping a ball which hit him on the full. At 206 for five with eight overs remaining, Pujara, relatively sedate until now, opted to take the powerplay which was the cue for a late rally led by Manish Pandey launching the returning Woakes for six over long-off. Pujara, en route to an unbeaten 87, joined in the fun by heaving Woakes for another maximum, this time over long-on as India A finished strongly. More... Poor bowling by India A helped hosts England Lions to win the one-day tri-series final by five wickets at the New Road ground in Worcester. Put in to bat first, India A scored a competitive 278 for seven, courtesy an unbeaten 87 (89 balls, 4x4, 2x6) by skipper Cheteshwar Pujara. The England Lions played steadily with Andrew Gale scoring 90 (114 balls, 10x4). However, it was some lusty hitting by Darren Stevens (68, 53 balls, 9x4, 1x6) that enabled Lions to win with eight deliveries to spare. Earlier, India A openers Shikhar Dhawan (39, 31 balls, 8x4) and Abhinav Mukund (62, 77 balls, 8x4) added 68 in less than 10 overs for the first wicket. After that only Pujara and to some extent Manoj Tiwary (24, 41 balls, 2x4) tried to fight it out but there was very little resistance from the other players. Ajinkya Rahane (12), vice-captain Wriddhiman Saha (5) failed to score big. It was yet another disastrous performance from young Manish Pandey who could manage only 13 before being holed out to Sajid Mahmood off Liam Plunkett. Plunkett (two for 51) and left-arm spinner Stephen Parry (three for 48) were the two most successful bowlers from the Lions.

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Plenty of positives for India A despite final loss More... Plenty of positives for India A despite final loss Express news service Posted: Fri Jul 09 2010, 02:59 hrs In the tri-series tournament that has seen all teams score over 300 runs on a regular basis, a target of 279 was never expected to challenge a strong England Lions. But, despite the five-wicket loss in the final game of the month-long tour, the India A boys are certain to return home with plenty of encouraging signs along with valuable overseas experience. It was captain Cheteshwar Pujara again who was responsible for India A posting a reasonable total as he added to his already impressive tour statistics with a 89-ball 87. Opener Abhinav Mukund provided a solid start with a 77-ball 62. Eventually, it was the batting department that provided the most number of positive signs during the tour, where India A won one out of three long-format games—with two draw— and three out of their seven one-day matches. While Pujara ran away with batting honours, it was Shikhar Dhawan who set the precedent in the tour-opener itself with a quick-fire 179, which even had the hard-to-please Yorkshire crowd on their feet, and eager to know more about the graceful left-hander. The likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Mukund and wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha too had their moments in the English sun, but it was Pujara’s prolific scoring that would have brought smiles to the national selectors back home. With the Indian Test middle-order now resting in the wrong-halves of their thirties, the Saurashtra middle-order batsman’s runs should have definitely eased many worries about the future for the selection committee headed by Kris Srikkanth. While the English conditions should have ideally presented a perfect opportunity for the young Indian pacers to enhance their repertoire, only 18-year-old Jaidev Unadkat produced a stand-out performance. And with match-figures of 13 for 103, including 7/41 in the first innings, in the comprehensive six-wicket win in the four-day game against West Indies A at Leicester, the left-arm pacer was the find of the tour.

[Sid]

I dont see any positives apart from pujara and unadkat.

[Sir john]

in first call matches india played well,a good tour at last.

[Chandan]

For India, I think bowling was a real worry, selection of players showed a real lack of intelligence and leaning on either part timers or bits and pieces players As for positive, Pujara and to some extent, Mukund were the only ones to stamp their authority. Pujara got the maximum number of runs in the tri series out of all the batsmen from the three teams. Most runs in A team triseries, 2010 You can see how poorly the Indian bowlers have fared in this tournament: Most wickets In the FC matches the highest run getter is once again Pujara and Dhawan is at number two courtsey his 179 vs Yorkshire 3rd string team: Most runs in FC matches, India A tour of England and Scotland, Jun-Jul 2010 Most wickets in FC matches

[msb1991]

I dont see any positives apart from pujara and unadkat.

Kulkarni definitely had his moments early in the tour and a few of the top order showed signs of brilliance such as Mukund and Dhawan.

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The second string : Praveen Amre's report on India A's tour to England and Scotland. India may have their hopes resting on youth but India A coach’s report paints a different picture. More... The second string India may have their hopes resting on youth but India A coach’s report paints a different picture Ashish Magotra Posted On Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 03:22:15 AM These days not a match passes by without another Indian player getting injured. During the Test series against Sri Lanka alone, India lost S Sreesanth, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh. And even before the tri-series has begun, another victim -- Ishant Sharma -- has been claimed. Add Zaheer Khan to the mix and it’s clear that India are missing some serious firepower. However, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is far from preturbed. In fact, he believes that this is a blessing in disguise because it gives India a chance to test their bench strength ahead of the World Cup. However, if the Indian skipper were to have a chance to look at coach Praveen Amre’s report, of which Mumbai Mirror has a copy, after the India ‘A’ tour of England in June-July, he perhaps wouldn’t be as optimistic. Short fall The first thing one noticed in the report is Amre’s assessment that the batsmen ‘still need to learn how to effectively handle short-pitched deliveries.’ This is one of the flaws that has crept into the senior team and one would have hoped that the next crop of cricketers would at least learn to work their way around this short coming. India hopeful Manish Pandey came in for sharp criticism from Praveen Amre Amre goes on to mention that the ground fielding was ‘not upto par’ either. We keep hearing that the younger generation of Indian cricketers are very good in the field but when the coach tells you otherwise, you tend to believe that. The report also slams Manish Pandey’s performance on the tour. The 20-year-old Karnataka player had become the first Indian player to score a century in the IPL but he has failed to gain any consistency since then. “He displayed very poor form and performance. Very lucky to get to play most of the matches. He was unable to score even a single fifty in any format. His batting technique was found wanting. His mindset against the quickies has to be worked on,” states the report. Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary, a former India hopeful, wasn’t spared either. “Performance not commensurate with his ability. Failure in Tests. Footwork and batting skills not good enough against genuine pace attack. Only one 70 plus runs in innings after playing all matches,” the report said about Tiwary. During the last year, India has tried as many as nine different bowlers in the one-day arena without ever looking close to arriving at a permanent solution. Not one of these bowlers, Sudeep Tyagi included, played more than five ODIs. However, instead of taking the challenge, head-on, Tyagi seems headed the wrong way. “I was personally very disappointed with his attitude. He sprained his side amongst other things but he was shadow of his original self. Not once did he look like the brilliant bowler of the last year’s emerging player’s team in Australia. Needs to rehabilitate and work on his bowling. If he has to go to the next level, his fielding has to improve,” Amre wrote in the report. Silver lining But the report made some constructive criticism as well, particularly in the case of Cheteshwar Pujara, who was the leading run-getter in the Tests as well as the one-dayers. “This is a highly focussed player with comparable temperament. He still needs to work on his speed for the shorter version of the game. He seems to manage the short pitched deliveries quite well but there is still room for improvement to reach the next level. Also there is room for him to improve his running between the wickets in the one-dayers.” Wriddhiman Saha, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane came in for high praise but it was Saurashtra’s Jaidev Unadkat who ran away with the honour. Amre labelled him as the ‘find of the tour.” The 18-year-old “After a long hiatus, we saw quality swing bowling. To bowl quality swing on debut is extremely creditable. His exceptional bowling helped us win the first Test and subsequently the series.” The left-arm paceman was part of the India under-19 squad for the 2010 World Cup and if the way the selectors have been doling out debut’s to pacemen is any indication then we might see him in India colours very soon. Pandey displayed very poor form. Very lucky to get to play most of the matches - Praveen Amre,India ‘A’ coach in his report