Sussex opener Tom Haines led a spirited England Lions response with a composed century after Karun Nair’s masterful double-hundred lifted India A to a massive 557 on the second day of the four-day unofficial Test on Saturday.
At Stumps, Lions reached 237 for two in 52 overs, with the compact left-hander Haines anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 103 (147 balls). They still trail India A by 320 runs.
Haines reached his 15th First-Class century late in the day, bringing it up in 138 balls with 11 boundaries.
After the early loss of Ben McKinney (16), who was cleaned up by seamer Anshul Kamboj in the sixth over, Haines, one of the most consistent and technically sound opening batters in English domestic cricket, took charge of the innings.
Kamboj was impressive in his opening spell, swinging the ball both ways and maintaining good control.
Haines was joined by fellow left-hander Emilio Gay, and the pair steadied the innings with a solid 109-run partnership that spanned the entire second session.
Gay, who looked fluent during his stay, narrowly missed a half-century, falling for 46 after facing 90 balls and striking eight fours.
He was dismissed by left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, who broke the threatening stand just as India A was beginning to feel the pressure.
Max Holden then joined Haines and played with positive intent, scoring a brisk 64 off just 61 deliveries, peppered with eight fours and a six.
The duo stitched together a 106-run partnership and ensured Lions finished the day strongly.
India A skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran used as many as six bowlers in an attempt to break Lions’ momentum, but neither Haines nor Holden gave any chances, showing composure and attacking instinct in equal measure.
Earlier in the day, Karun, returning to the Indian Test setup after eight years, displayed his class with a sublime 204 off 281 balls, including 26 boundaries and a six after India A resumed at the overnight score of 409 for three.
Karun, who resumed from overnight 186, brought up his 200 off 272 balls with a four over cover off pacer Eddie Jack.
But India lost two quick wickets of overnight batter Dhruv Jurel (94) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (7). Karun and Jurel added 195 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter’s dismissal.
Karun too could not continue for long after reaching his double-hundred, edging an in-coming delivery from pacer Zaman Akhter to stumper James Rew.
Once Karun was dismissed, Lions’ pacers went through the rest of the India A line-up with regular blows.
