Dan Mousley's Century Leads England Lions in Unofficial Test Against India A
England Lions Dominate Day 3 Against India A
Canterbury [UK], June 2: A stellar performance by Dan Mousley, who scored a magnificent century, propelled the England Lions to a total of 527-7, leaving them just 30 runs short at the conclusion of day three in the first unofficial Test against India A at St Lawrence Ground.
At the end of the day's play, England Lions stood at 527/7, with Zaman Akhter remaining not out on 38 runs from 78 balls. Mousley was dismissed for 113 runs off 157 deliveries by Karun Nair, who had previously scored a double century in India's first innings. Mousley's innings featured ten boundaries and a six.
Starting the third session at 413/5, Tom Haines was on 167 (271) and Mousley at 48 (85). Haines was out shortly after, concluding his impressive innings at 171 runs, which included 19 fours. Zaman Akhter then joined Mousley at the crease.
Mousley reached his half-century in the 101st over, nudging the ball for a single off Nitish Kumar Reddy. The pair of Akhter and Mousley formed a solid partnership, adding 50 runs for the seventh wicket by the 114th over.
In the 117th over, Mousley took on Harsh Dubey, scoring 12 runs, and continued to find the boundary, helping the England Lions surpass the 500-run mark. He celebrated his century in the 120th over with a four off Mukesh Kumar, sending the ball to deep midwicket.
Earlier in the second session, Tom Haines' 150 and a strong innings from Mousley gave England Lions an advantage over India A, as they ended the session at 413-5 after 98 overs, still trailing by 144 runs.
Resuming the second session at 333/5, with Dan Mousley on 2 (8) and Tom Haines at 142 (208), Haines reached his 150 by pushing the ball to deep point for a single off Harshit Rana.
Mousley effectively rotated the strike and hit boundaries consistently, while Indian bowlers struggled to take wickets, failing to dismiss any batsmen until tea. The duo of Haines and Mousley added 87 runs off 150 balls for the sixth wicket.
Both players remained unbeaten at the end of the second session, with Haines on 167 (271) and Mousley at 48 (85). Earlier, the England Lions had started the day at 237/2 in 52 overs, with Haines (103*) and Max Holden (64*) at the crease.
In the 56th over, the English team crossed the 250-run mark, thanks to a boundary from Holden off Harshit Rana. Ten overs later, they reached 300 with Haines hitting a boundary off Mukesh Kumar.
Holden brought up his century in the 67th over, scoring 101 runs off 101 balls, including 12 fours and a six, before being dismissed by Mukesh Kumar in the 68th over. Following his wicket, England lost two more wickets for just 14 runs.
Captain James Rew (8) and Rehan Ahmed (3) were dismissed cheaply, leaving the team at 326/5 in 73.2 overs. Dan Mousley was the next batsman to come in.
By the end of the first session on day three, Haines and Mousley had built an unbeaten partnership of seven runs.