India A struck early twice after skipper Dhruv Jurel’s unbeaten 141 propelled the visitors to a massive 452 for six declared in the first innings of their first unofficial Test here on Friday.
Anshul Kamboj (1/22) and Yash Thakur (1/20) claimed a wicket each to rock Sri Lanka A early, who reached 113 for two when the stumps were drawn. The hosts are trailing by another 339 runs in the first essay.
Kamboj provided the first breakthrough when he had Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Niroshan Dickwella caught by Rasheed for 10, while Thakur cleaned up Pawantha Weerasinghe for 11 to keep India A on top.
But Nuwanidu Fernando showed some positive intent as he cracked seven boundaries to score 65 not out off 103 balls, while Ashen Bandara was accompanying him on 18 not out at the close of play.
With their team in a spot of bother at 38 for two, the two Sri Lankan batters joined forces to keep India waiting for further success while putting on runs comfortably. By stumps, Fernando and Bandara had put on an unbeaten 75 runs for the third wicket.
Jurel was the top scorer for India A, cracking 13 fours and a six to make 141 not out from 215 balls. The India A skipper’s knock had a right blend of caution and aggression that drove his team to a position of command.
Jurel had resumed the second day’s play at 68 not out and managed to convert his fifty into a big score, his overnight partner Shaik Rasheed fell for 63 (113 balls, 5 fours) after reaching 53 not out the previous day.
India were 333 for four at stumps on the opening day of the two-match unofficial Test series with opening batter Sai Sudharsan smacking 132. But the rest of the batters including Aayush Pandey (25), Devdutt Padikkal (12) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (22) had failed to convert their starts.
On the second day, Chamika Gunasekara added a couple of more dismissals to his tally while also breaking a stubborn fifth-wicket stand between Jurel and Rasheed.
The right-arm Sri Lanka fast bowler got through the defence of Rasheed for his second wicket of the innings, and then stopped Harsh Dubey’s advance after the Vidarbha all-rounder set himself up for long haul.
Dubey struck two fours and a six to make 30 off 51 balls before falling to Gunasekara, caught by Weerasinghe, but not before putting on a sturdy 86 runs for the sixth wicket with Jurel.
Auqib Nabi remained wicketless on the second day while sending down seven overs, India spinners Dubey and Saransh Jain also encountered the same fate.