Pujara scores half ton to grind England

MUMBAI: Cheteshwar Pujara compiled a patient 87 and put the England bowlers to the grind along with Hiken Shah (84 batting) as Mumbai A reached 232 for four on day two of the tourists' warm-up game on Sunday.

Pujara, expected to be in the Indian team for the November 15-19 first Test to be picked tomorrow, came to the crease before lunch and spent the entire second session and much of the third till he was out after a 262-minute stay at the crease at the DY Patil Stadium.

Pujara, who hit 11 fours in 184 balls, and Hiken Shah put on a stand of 163 runs for the third wicket in around four hours as the disciplined England bowling attack toiled hard but was unable to separate the two for 338 balls.

In large measure due to the duo's fine batting, Mumbai A, replying to the visitors' first innings total of 345 for nine declared, ended the day 113 runs behind England with one more day to go.

At stumps, Shah was holding fort after having batted for over four hours, faced 190 balls and struck nine fours and a six.

Mumbai A lost their skipper Suryakumar Yadav in the last over of the day of the bowling of James Anderson, who took the second new ball, for 17.

Pujara, lucky to be let off on 22 by Anderson at slip off left-arm spinner Monty Panesar just after lunch, went into a defensive mode in the second session before opening out a bit in the last.

The 24-year-old Saurashtra batsman, who has played five Tests so far, was finally consumed by the same bowler, as Anderson pouched the edge off the defensive bat.

Mumbai A crawled their way back in the afternoon session against a disciplined England bowling attack after starting their innings 45 minutes into the third day. They moved to 43 for one at lunch with opener Bhavin Thakkar out for five.

The home team inched to 110 for two at tea break by adding 67 runs in the middle session in 31 overs and lost opener Shikhar Dhawan (27), who was sent back by part-time off break bowler Joe Root.

Pujara batted the entire second session to add 24 runs to his lunch score of 14. In all, he hit just three fours and a lone boundary in this period.

He became ultra-defensive after being let off by Anderson while diminutive left-hander Shah was stroke-less and run-less for a long time leading to drying up of runs in the second session.

After his escape, Pujara totally eschewed risks after he had shown some sort of aggression in the pre-lunch session, driving and cutting the bowlers for a few boundaries.

The post-tea period saw both the batsmen coming of the shell and striking fours when non-regular bowler Patel came on for a spell.

Pujara first cut Graham Onions for his first boundary after 67 balls and hit Anderson for another four to reach his 50 in 140 balls and after 194 minutes stay at the crease, 11 overs into the final session.

He then struck Patel for successive boundaries to raise the 100 of the third wicket stand in 261 balls as the home team added 43 in 14 overs in the first hour post-tea.

Shah, rendered stroke-less by the accurate bowling, opened out a bit to reach his individual 50 with a couple off Patel in 140 balls, containing four fours.

In the morning, Mumbai A new ball bowlers Shardul Thakur and Kshemal Waingankar polished off three tourists batsmen for the addition of seven runs.

Thakur bagged two of the three wickets that fell before England declared their innings closed at the fall of Graham Onions to Thakur in the last ball of the eighth over.

Thakur, who finished with three for 53, sent back left-handed Broad, who fell leg before, and Onions, who was caught behind, in the space of 12 balls.

Waingankar packed off overnight unbeaten batsman Samit Patel, who added just one run, to add to the two wickets he grabbed yesterday for innings figures of three for 72.

Patel, who was caught behind to the 12th ball he faced, hit seven fours in his 110-minute innings. Broad and Patel were out in successive balls in consecutive overs and at the same score of 339.

England declared when Onions departed with Monty Panesar yet to bat. The visitors lost three wickets in 23 balls in the morning after resuming at 338 for six.

Apart from Waingankar and Thakur, seamer Javed Khan (2 for 75), who turned up to play yesterday hours after his father died and also missed the funeral held in the morning, and captain Suryakumar Yadav (1 for 30) were the other wicket takers.

Scorecard:

Mumbai A
Bhavin Thakkar c Bairstow b Onions 5
Shikhar Dhawan c Anderson b Root 27
Cheteshwar Pujara c Anderson b Panesar 87
Hiken Shah batting 84
Suryakumar Yadav c Bairstow b Anderson 17

Extras: (B-6 LB-2 W-1 NB-3) 12

Total: (For 4 wkts in 80.4 overs) 232
Fall of wickets: 1/19, 2/47, 3/210, 4/232

Bowling:
Anderson 13.4-5-36-1,
Broad 10-2-19-0,
Onions 12-2-34-1,
Panesar 20-4-47-1,
Root 13-3-43-1,
Patel 9-1-34-0,
Trott 3-0-11-0.

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Mumbai in command against Railways

MUMBAI: Despite dropping a few catches, Mumbai were poised to take a big first-innings lead after restricting Railways to 380 for eight on Day three of their Group A Ranji Trophy match on Sunday.

In pursuit of Mumbai's massive 570 all out, Railways were trailing by 190 runs at stumps, and required another 41 to avoid follow-on.

To challenge the might of Mumbai, the visitors needed at least a couple of big knocks from their top-order batsmen but that did not happen, though there were three half-centuries.

Railways, however, could not really capitalise on the lives they got at the Wankhede stadium.

Ashish Yadav was dropped on 12 by wicketkeeper Aditya Tare off Romesh Powar. Yadav went on to make 47 off 120 balls with the help of six boundaries, but that was not enough considering the situation.

He forged a 77-run partnership with Murali Kartik, who chipped in with 41.

Both the batsmen were caught by Sachin Tendulkar off bowler Iqbal Abdulla.

Senior pacer Zaheer Khan, who started the day's proceedings, left mid-way during one of his overs due to cramps.

"It's a cramp, and hopefully, he should be back tomorrow morning. We didn't want to exert him too much (today)," the Mumbai team manager said.

Centurion Abhishek Nayar had to step in to bowl Zaheer's last delivery. It was the 99th over of the match and the pacer's 12th of the day.

The veteran bowler, in his third spell of the day, took the wicket of Mahesh Rawat, who was caught behind. It was Zaheer's third over, after opting to take the new ball after the mandatory 80 overs.

It was however Nayar who provided Mumbai the initial breakthrough, in his fourth over, by getting rid of Railways skipper Sanjay Bangar. Bangar scored 67, before being caught at extra cover by Abdulla.

Bangar shared a 110-run partnership with Nitin Bhille for the third wicket, and made the bowlers toil in the first session.

Bhille scored 73 but failed to capitalise on the dropped catch by Kaustubh Pawar. He was on 69 when second slip fielder Pawar failed to take the catch off skipper Ajit Agarkar's bowling.

Pawar redeemed himself by holding on to a catch in Agarkar's next over to dismiss Bhille. Pawar had dropped two catches yesterday and had made amends later to dismiss the same batsmen.

Parag Madkaikar, who came into bat after Bangar departed, returned to the pavilion seven overs later. He was caught at forward short-leg by Pawar off the bowling of Ramesh Powar.

Mumbai took two wickets in each session, and Railways scored 98, 99 and 97 runs to their total in the three sessions, respectively. Railways attacked Powar and scored 129 runs off his bowling.

Mumbai skipper Agarkar conceded that a result was not possible, as his team could not run through the Railways batting order.

"The result was possible but Sanjay and Bhille batted well. Not getting a wicket in the major part of first session was a big blow to us," Agarkar said.

"We will have to see. First we have to get those two wickets. Considering how the wicket is, we will see how the bowlers are tomorrow morning," he added.

He admitted that his team could have performed better. "This is the first game of season. Sometimes the players are a bit rusty as well. We have to get better. We haven't bowled as well for sure," he said.

He defended spinner Ramesh Powar and said, "They couldn't score enough off fast bowlers. And most Indian players bat well against spin in any case. There wasn't much purchase in wicket. There wasn't enough assistance in wicket."

Scoreboard

Railways (1st innings):

S Shukla c Pawar b Agarkar 18
A Paunikar c Pawar b Agarkar 9
N Bhille c Pawar b Agarkar 73
S Bangar c Abdulla b Nayar 67
P Madkaikar c Pawar b Powar 11
M Rawat c Tare b Khan 68
A Yadav c Tendulkar b Abdulla 47
M Kartik c Tendulkar b Abdulla 41
K Upadhyay batting 19
A Singh batting 15

Extras: (B-4, LB-5, NB-3, W-0) 12 TOTAL: (for 8 wkts in 118 overs) 380 Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-31, 3-141, 4-156, 5-200, 6-263, 7-340, 8-348

Bowling: Zaheer Khan 20.5-5-41-1, Kulkarni 21-8-33-0, Agarkar 14-3-43-3, Powar 27-4-129-1, Abdulla 19-3-67-2, Nayar 14.1-1-55-1, Sharma 2-1-3-0

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Injury scare for Zak ahead of Eng series

Zaheer Khan walked out just as he was about to bowl his last delivery of the innings' 99th over. (TOI Photo)

MUMBAI: The Indian cricket team survived a scare ahead of the upcoming series against England after cramps forced pace spearhead Zaheer Khan to leave the field without completing his over during his state side Mumbai's Ranji Trophy match against Railways on Sunday.

The national selectors will meet on Monday to pick the squad for the series.

Zaheer walked out just as he was about to bowl his last delivery of the innings' 99th over. Railways were 333 for six at that point.

It was the first over of Zaheer's fourth spell, and his 12th of the day. He did not return to the field thereafter.

Mumbai skipper Ajit Agarkar said that the senior bowler will turn up on Monday.

"Zak is okay. He is just cramping a bit. He has had a long day and was it very humid here," Agarkar told reporters after the match.

Agarkar said that the veteran started feeling uneasy after tea and added that they didn't want to exert him as two wickets had already fallen in the session.

"He has worked hard enough. In the last month he trained well. He should be on field tomorrow morning. He should be okay. He is just cramping badly. It suddenly got a bit humid, so he probably dehydrated... after the tea session. That is when, that is when you want to hold back a little bit instead of doing any damage. He should be okay on Monday morning.

"Once you are in (the dressing room) you can't bowl for that period so it didn't really make sense, plus they lost two wickets later on so they were eight down anyway. It's better when you are fresh tomorrow than making it worse today. That is the only reason."

The Mumbai skipper indicated that Zaheer had bowled a fair number of overs.

"He bowled well. There is Test match at the back of his mind. You want to get yourself ready for Test match and bowl as many overs. I think 20 overs is fair workout under your belt. As a bowler you need some overs going into big games.

"He was obviously trying to get his lines, lengths and rhythm correct before the upcoming test match. He is in good shape. Over the course of the test series the conditions will get better, weatherwise at least. This is probably the toughest work out you can have," he said.

Zaheer bagged a wicket on Sunday, getting rid of Mahesh Rawat caught behind.

At the end of the day's play, his bowling figures read 20.5-5-41-1.

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2nd ODI: Ross Taylor leads Kiwi charge

Ross Taylor plays a shot during their second One Day International (ODI) cricket match against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. (Reuters Photo)

PALLEKELE: Ross Taylor and Bradley-John Watling cracked half-centuries to help New Zealand post a competitive 250-6 against Sri Lanka in the second one-day international in Pallekele on Sunday.

Skipper Taylor smashed two sixes and seven fours in a brisk 62-ball 72 for his 21st half-century in one-dayers, while Watling made an impressive 55 with six fours for his fourth fifty.

The New Zealand captain added 91 for the fourth wicket with James Franklin (35 not out) before being caught by Angelo Mathews in the covers off paceman Nuwan Kulasekara in the 46th over.

Opener Rob Nicol (46) was the other main scorer.

Paceman Lasith Malinga was the most successful bowler, finishing with 2-39 off 10 overs.

The opening one-dayer of the five-match series was called off without a ball being bowled due to rain at the same venue on Thursday.

New Zealand, who were without hard-hitting batsman Brendon McCullum due to a stiff back, lost an early wicket after choosing to bat when opener Tom Latham (two) was bowled by Malinga.

Nicol, dropped on four by Mathews in the slips off Malinga, steadied the innings with an 83-run stand for the second wicket with Watling before being caught by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara off seamer Thisara Perera.

Watling fell after completing his half-century, caught by skipper Mahela Jayawardene at short mid-wicket off left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.

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'Sachin getting some runs is good sign'

"I think Sachin would have got enough time to think about how he got out. If he has got the runs now, obviously he has worked hard for it," says Gavaskar. (TOI Photo)

MUMBAI: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday said that Sachin Tendulkar getting some runs under his belt in the Ranji Trophy match before the upcoming four-Test series against England is a good sign.

Gavaskar was one of those who had said the 39-year-old's mode of dismissals in recent matches was concerning.

"He is one the most hardworking studious guys you come across. I think Sachin would have got enough time to think about how he got out. If he has got the runs now, obviously he has worked hard for it.

"The evidence will be seen in the Test matches. The fact that he has got runs is a good sign," Gavaskar told reporters at an event where he was honoured for his 34 centuries by a Swiss luxury watch firm.

On Friday, Tendulkar roared back to form ahead of the upcoming Test series against England with a strokeful 137 in 136 balls against Railways in the Ranji match.

On his earlier comment on the senior batsman's dismissals, he said, "That was the early part of the season. Some people can be a little bit rusty. India had a rare two months off from international cricket. May be it was a case of rustiness. But he is somebody who would have noticed it himself and studied the videos. So I don't see too much of an issue."

On the series against arch-rivals Pakistan, to be held in between the Test and ODI series against England, Gavaskar clarified that he has no objection but felt the timing was slightly odd as India would have no rest before facing Australia after the long series against the English.

Gavaskar was moved when presented with a watch and said it will be his 25 years of retirement on Monday and also recounted a nightmarish experience in 1971, just before the series against the West Indies.

"In the New York flight I started screaming and the on-board doctor gave me tranquilisers. When we reached an infirmary, the nurse mad a bad face because of the swollen finger and pus.

The doctors told me it was lucky we had a stopover otherwise gangrene would have set in and we would have had to chop that finger off.

"I couldn't play the warm up matches because it was my top hand and I couldn't hold the bat, " he said, adding that he noticed a similar thing in the morning but used a band aid this time around," recollected Gavaskar

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India have an edge over England: Sunny

"I have always believed that home teams have an edge. They are familiar with the conditions. They are able to be in the surroundings they are comfortable in," Sunil Gavaskar said. (PTI Photo)

MUMBAI: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday said India will have an edge over England in the upcoming Test series if they manage to win the first match, but added that the hosts' batting line-up looks shaky.

"I have always believed that home teams have an edge. They are familiar with the conditions. They are able to be in the surroundings they are comfortable in. You know the pitch conditions.

"In 2011, England very vulnerable, Australia were very vulnerable. The first Test becomes an important factor. England won the first Test and Australia won the first Test. You derive strength from that. If India wins the first Test, I don't think England will be able to come back," Gavaskar said.

He maintained that the batting looks depleted with the retirement of senior players like Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman and the opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir struggling for form.

"The batting looks a bit shaky. The opening pair's form doesn't look that good. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have retired. Cheteshwar Pujara is new. The batting looks a bit weakened to what we had earlier.

"Just now the season has started... if the players are in form then even we can score 500-600 runs. In bowling Umesh Yadav is new. Pragyan Ojha and R Ashwin's combination has not become that popular. It is not the same attack we had a couple of years ago," he said.

Asked to predict the outcome of the series, Gavaskar hoped India would make a clean sweep.

"It is hard to predict but I hope so. I hope it is 4-0 against England and 4-0 against Australia. It is what we suffered in 2011," he said.

Gavaskar conceded that the opening pair is woefully out of form, but said it is premature to think about tinkering with it.

"It is good that there is competition because competition ensures that nobody takes his place for granted. We have got a set opening pair with Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag. Unless the situation is dire, unless the situation is that somebody is so out of form, I don't think we should be doing unnecessary changes.

"We have got a pair who understand each other, (it) is not an easy thing. It takes time for a new pair, new combination to settle. I think we should wait a bit before taking any decision," he said.

On the much-debated number six spot that is up for grabs, he said, "After Yuvi's performance with not just the bat but also the five wickets, he gives the extra flexibility to the skipper. He brings in different angle of attack. Down the order at no. 6 if he gets going, he can smash any attack.

"Yuvraj has made a case for himself. The way he bowled and the way he has batted. He brings another option. He gives the captain flexibility in terms of bowling and batting. One of England's leading and dangerous batsmen Kevin Pietersen has been susceptible to left-hand spinner."

Asked about captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's form and trying out different captains for different formats, he said, "Dhoni's form will not be a worry on Indian pitches. The Australian system of picking the best 11 and then choosing the captain I think is very good. None of the players have doubt about a person's place in the team.

"As of now Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an automatic choice. If he is an automatic selection then he continues to be the captain. When he is not an automatic selection then you can look at somebody else being the captain."

On the proposed day-night Tests, he said, "This is something Sir Don Bradman spoke to me in 1977-78, he told me day-night Test matches would be soon.

"But if the ball is good and it doesn't lose it's colour and can be spotted at night, I think certainly day-night matches will come. The dew factor and everything else will have to be considered.

"The timings have to be chosen... say in India you cannot play in November to January because the dew factor is quite high. But my feeling is when they talk about day-night matches it won't be till 10 pm, it might be something that finishes at 8pm.

"I am not in ICC's technical committee anymore so I don't know about the timing," he said.

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Jonny Bairstow takes England to 338/6

England's Jonny Bairstow celebrates after scoring a century during a warm-up match against Mumbai A in Mumbai. (AP Photo)

MUMBAI: Jonny Bairstow hit a century to spare England's blushes on Saturday, after a dramatic collapse on the opening day of the three-day tour match against Mumbai 'A'.

The tourists slipped to 66-4 in the first session after electing to bat, before Bairstow's rescue act steered them to 338 for six by stumps at the DY Patil stadium on the outskirts of Mumbai.

The 23-year-old made 118 with the aid of 14 boundaries to put himself in contention for the first Test against India starting in Ahmedabad on November 15.

Bairstow put on 156 for the fifth wicket with Eoin Morgan (76) and 107 for the sixth with Samit Patel, who followed his century in the tour opener against India 'A' with an unbeaten 59.

England's search for an opening partner for skipper Alastair Cook after the retirement of Andrew Strauss did not make any headway as both Nick Compton and Joe Root fell cheaply.

Compton, grandson of former Test batsman Denis Compton, scored zero and one in the two innings he has played so far on the tour, while Root fell for 28 on Saturday.

The tourists rested Cook and star batsman Kevin Pietersen for the match against a makeshift Mumbai team comprising players not selected for the ongoing Ranji Trophy first-class match.

Brief scores:

England 338-6 (Jonny Bairstow 118, Eoin Morgan 76, Samit Patel 59 not out) versus Mumbai 'A'.

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Mumbai in driver's seat against Railways

Mumbai's Abhishek Nayar celebrates after scoring a century during Ranji Trophy match against Railways at the Wankhade Stadium. (PTI Photo)

MUMBAI: Mumbai piled the pressure on Railways as they amassed a massive first innings total of 570 all out on the second day of a Group A Ranji Trophy tie at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.

After Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane had hogged the limelight on the first day with their spectacular centuries, Abhishek Nayar impressed on the second with an unbeaten 107 off 164 balls.

Railways found themselves in a spot of bother losing both their openers, Shivakant Shukla (18) and Amit Paunikar (9) with just 31 on the board.

Captain Sanjay Bangar (36 not out) and Nitin Bhille (21 not out) restored some parity with an unbeaten 55-run stand to take Railways to 86 for two at the end of the day's play.

Mumbai resumed the proceedings on an overnight score of 344 for four. Rahane could only add 24 runs before he was trapped in front of the stumps by Krishnakant Upadhyay.

Nayar then batted brilliantly with the tail as skipper Ajit Agarkar played a cameo, scoring 20 off 35 balls.

Spinner Ramesh Powar (41) played a gritty hand and played a key role in taking Mumbai to their mammoth total.

He stitched a 63-run partnership with Nayar for the eighth wicket, ensuring Mumbai crossed the 500-mark.

Anureet Singh and Shukla were impressive with ball taking three wickets apiece while veteran spinner Murali Kartik accounted for two.

Agarkar was on target for Mumbai with the ball taking both the wickets to fall in the Railways innings.

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'Indo-Pak series could have been longer'

Indo-Pak bilateral cricket is finally set for revival in December. (TOI Photo)

KARACHI: He is glad that Indo-Pak bilateral cricket is finally set for revival come December, but former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas is not particularly pleased with the short duration of the series.

While welcoming the BCCI announcement that it had got clearance to host Pakistan for a short one-day series from December 25, Zaheer said he hoped for a full series.

"While it is a very good thing that finally bilateral cricket matches are being revived after nearly five years but the duration of the series has disappointed me given the importance of Indo-Pak cricket contests," he said.

"Any bilateral contest is welcome but I would have thought that after such a long break, both countries should have played a proper Test series and found a window for this in their busy schedules," he added.

Zaheer said the duration of the series was too short. "But anyway I hope that very soon the two boards will schedule a full Test series because it has been a long time since we played Tests against each other and that is the real challenge of cricket," he noted.

Another former Test captain, Hanif Mohammad also welcomed the decision by the PCB to send its team to India in December to revive bilateral ties.

"It is a good decision although India has not come to Pakistan since 2006 but someone has to take the initiative and it is good we did it. Because I have always felt Indo-Pak cricket contests only further popularise the sport in the subcontinent and bring in new talent," Hanif said.

Zaheer also advised the Pakistan Cricket Board to appoint a local person as the batting coach of the national team.

Zaheer's comments came despite he being a member of the coaching committee appointed by the board to scrutinise, shortlist and recommend candidates for the batting coach position.

The committee has invited interested applicants from Pakistan and outside the country to apply for the position by December 5.

"I just feel that we should have a local person as batting coach because we have produced some great batsmen in our country and one of them can easily enough do the job for the national team," Zaheer said.

The former captain, who himself scored prolifically in a illustrious career is a member of the committee that also includes former Test captain Intikhab Alam and Colonel Naushad Ali.

Zaheer, who was also on the committee when it appointed Dav Whatmore as head coach of the team in March, said the Australian needed to be given proper time to prove his credentials with the team.

"Immediately after he took charge we won the Asia Cup but I still feel he needs to be given more time to prove himself. We should not jump to conclusions about his value to the team," he added.

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Eyes on Pujara, Dhawan in warm-up tie

MUMBAI: Special invitees Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan would be the closely watched by the national selectors when Mumbai A take on the visiting England team in the tourists' second three-day warm-up game from Saturday.

Pujara, a prolific run-getter in domestic cricket and scorer of a ton in the opening Test against New Zealand in August, looks a certainty for India's first Test squad to be announced on the last day of this game.

Dhawan is a strong contender to be the reserve opener at Ahmedabad following his big scores in the earlier part of the 2012-13 domestic season.

The Delhi batsman would have played in place of Abhinav Mukund for India A in the opening warm-up game but opted out of the originally announced squad as his wedding date clashed with the match.

Apart from this duo, there are players like captain Suryakumar Yadav, Kshemal Waingankar and Balwinder Singh Sandhu Jr., who will be watched with interest by the selectors.

Medium pacer Waingankar, in fact, had taken a six-wicket haul when England last visited the country and played a warm-up game at Brabourne while Sandhu made an impressive Ranji Trophy debut as a new ball bowler last season.

There are others like batsmen Hiken Shah and Bhavin Thakkar, apart from leg spinner Sagar Gorivale and medium pacer Javed Khan who would be eager to impress against a top visiting side.

The visitors, on the other hand, had a satisfactory outing in their opening drawn game against India A that ended yesterday.

Most pleasing from their point of view was the long stays at the crease of captain and opener Alastair Cook and middle order batsman Samit Patel, both of who scored centuries.

There were attractive half centuries from Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior, the first choice stumper, to further give a boost to their confidence ahead of the tough battles in the four-Test rubber starting on November 15.

Speedsters James Anderson and Tim Bresnan, expected to make the eleven at Ahmedabad, had long spells under the sun and on a wicket that was good for batting.

Anderson claimed four wickets by concentrating on moving the ball and Bresnan used his aggression, pace and the short ball to snap up 4 wickets - par for the course.

The third fast bowler who played in the game, Steven Finn, limped off after bowling only four overs due to a right thigh strain and is not likely to take the field in the second game.

Vice-captain Stuart Broad is certain to play along with the fifth pace bowler Graham Onions. The third and final warm-up game against Haryana is scheduled between November 8 and 11 at Ahmedabad.

A small concern for the visitors was that part-time left arm spinner Yuvraj Singh grabbed a career first-class best of 5 for 94, and his victims included Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Patel and Prior.

However, pace spearhead Anderson said after the match that the visitors were not too concerned about Yuvraj getting a fifer.

Lack of match practice against spin could be the undermining factor for the tourists who will be up against off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and left arm Pragyan Ojha in the Test series.

The Indian spin duo has scalped wickets in a heap by bowling together in the last two Test rubbers at home against the West Indies and New Zealand.

But for Sagar Gorivale, a leg break bowler, the Mumbai A squad also lacks a frontline slow bowler, which is seen as a ploy by the Indian selection committee to deny the visiting team good practice against slow bowlers ahead of Tests.

From the visitors' point of view, they may opt to give a chance to left arm spinner Monty Panesar to get into the groove.

Panesar is fighting for a place in the eleven with Patel who has stolen the first march with a ton and a two-wicket haul in the visitors' tour-opener.

Teams (from):

Mumbai A: Suryakumar Yadav (Capt.), Cheteshwar Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Hiken Shah, Bhavin Thakkar, Sufiyan Shaikh, Nikhil Patil (Jr.), Abhishek Raut, Neelkanth Parab, Bravish Shetty, Kshemal Waingankar, Balwinder Singh Sandhu (Jr.) , Sagar Gorivale, Javed Khan, Shardul Thakur.

England: Alastair Cook (Capt.), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Nick Compton, Steven Finn, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Sturt Broad, Joe Root, Jimmy Bairstow, Graham Onions, Eoin Morgan, Monty Panesar.

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