Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading an Indian team perhaps for the last time. The former captain, who quit captaincy last week, will be leading a star-studded India A team against an England XI. This match will serve as a warm-up game before the ODI and T20 series between India and England starting in Pune on Jnauary 15. Catch live cricket score of India A vs England XI here. (Ranji Trophy final live)
4:19 pm IST: Ambati Rayudu brings up his century and retires not out. MS Dhoni is out in the middle!
4:15 pm IST: Fifty for Yuvraj Singh as the flamboyant left hander reaches the milestone with a four!
4:10 pm IST: Yuvraj Singh is just 5 runs away from a brilliant fifty! India A 210/2
4:08 pm IST: Another six for Ambati Rayudu as India A cross 200! It has been a special batting performance by the 31-year old!
4:06 pm IST: A huge six over long on as India A reach 197/2 after 38 overs
4:02 pm IST: 37 overs gone. India A are 182/2 with Yuvraj and Rayudu both looking quite comfortable.
3:58 pm IST: The Yuvraj Singh show continues as India A reach 178/2 after 36 overs!
Vintage @YUVSTRONG12! How’s that for a SIX! CCI at its feet in admiration. pic.twitter.com/VNN2F38cfx
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2017
3:51 pm IST: Yuvraj Singh has shown great touch till now as India A 173/2 after 35 overs.
3:45 pm IST: It’s deja vu time for England as Yuvraj Singh dispatches the ball for two huge sixes! India A 172/2
3:38 pm IST: What a shot! A brilliant boundary for Yuvraj Singh straight down the ground as India A bring up their 150 at the end of the 32nd over.
3:36 pm IST: 31 overs gone. India A are batting on 143/2 with Rayudu and Yuvraj out in the middle.
3:31 pm IST: Yuvraj Singh is known to be shaky against spin at the start of his innings and England will be looking to take advantage! India A 139/2
India A’s Ambati Rayudu plays a shot as England XI’s wicketkeeper Jos Buttler looks on. (REUTERS)
3:28 pm IST: A huge roar from the crowd as Yuvraj Singh is the new batsman for India A!
3:26 pm IST: WICKET! Jake Ball strikes! Shikhar Dhawan is caught behind for 63! India A 136/2
3:18 pm IST: It’s Ambati Rayudu’s turn as he also brings up his fifty! India A 128/1
3:15 pm IST: Solid batting by both Dhawan and Rayudu! India A 118/1
India A batsman Shikhar Dhawan reached his fifty in 73 balls against England. (AFP)
3:12 pm IST: Fifty for Shikhar Dhawan as he brings up the milestone in 73 balls! India A 110/1
3:06 pm IST: Back-to-back boundaries for Rayudu! Shikhar is batting on 49, but it seems that he may not be the first person to score a fifty today!
3:02 pm IST: 22 overs gone. India A reach 79/1 with both batsmen looking quite comfortable out in the middle.
2:56 pm IST: Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu have steadied the innings as India A reach 75/1 after 20 overs against England.
2:55 pm IST: England are going to introduce their second specialist spinner as Adil Rashid steps up for the visitors.
2:54 pm IST: 19 overs gone. India A 72/1 (Dhawan 38*, Rayudu 23*)
2:50 pm IST: Meanwhile, Mumbai are 179/6 at tea against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy final.
2:49 pm IST: A good over for India A as Shikhar Dhawan and Ambati Rayudu take India A to 69/1 after 18 overs.
2:43 pm IST: A look at Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s preparation ahead of this match:
How many of you are at the stands of CCI to support #TeamIndia and cheer for @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/ljzm2lXlpQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2017
2:40 pm IST: A minor injury concern for Ambati Rayudu as a throw catches him on the wrist. India A 53/1
2:36 pm IST: 50 comes up for India A in the 16th over as Jake Ball concedes 5 runs from overthrows.
2:35 pm IST: Shikhar Dhawan has shown good touch till now, but the run rate is still extremely poor as India A reach 45/1 after 15 overs.
2:24 pm IST: Change from both ends as Jake Ball is also introduced from the other end. But, it was not a good start for the medium pacer as Shikhar Dhawan dispatched him for a boundary on his second ball. India A 42/1 after 12 overs.
2:19 pm IST: First change in bowling for England as Moeen Ali is introduced in the attack.
2:16 pm IST: It has been an extremely slow start by India A as the England bowlers have shown good control on their line and length. India A 33/1 after 10 overs
2:11 pm IST: The Cricket Club of India (CCI) is letting the spectators enter the ground for free and it can safely be said that the warm-up match has a bigger crowd than the on-going Ranji Trophy final in Indore. India A 28/1 after 9 overs
2:07 pm IST: Ambati Rayudu is the next batsman for India A as they reach 25/1 after 8 overs.
India A’s Mandeep Singh reacts as he is bowled by England XI’s David Willey. (REUTERS)
2:05 pm IST: WICKET! Mandeep Singh was not looking comfortable at all and David Willey castled him for 7 to hand England the first breakthrough! India A 25/1
1:55 pm IST: 6 overs gone. It has been a really slow start for India A as they reach 24/0
1:48 pm IST: After a shaky start, Mandeep Singh joins the party with a crunching cover drive. India 13/0 after 4 overs.
1:43 pm IST: What a shot! Finally a show of intent from the Indian batsmen as Shikhar Dhawan hits the first boundary of the match. India 9/0
1:40 pm IST: Cautious start by the openers as India reach 3/0 after 2 overs.
1:35 pm IST: A good start for Chris Woakes as he gets a maiden on the first over of the innings.
1:32 pm IST: Mandeep Singh and Shikhar Dhawan are the openers for India A while Chris Woakes will start the proceedings for England.
1:29 pm IST: Time to take a look at the India A team which will be facing England:
INDIA A: Dhoni, Yuvraj, Dhawan, Mandeep, Rayudu, Samson, Pandya, Kuldeep, Mohit, Chahal, Nehra
LIVE | https://t.co/kaakvdZ6tc
— HT Sports (@HTSportsNews) January 10, 2017
1:27 pm IST: Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be captaining the India A side today and the Cricket Club of India felicitated him ahead of the warm-up match.
Felicitations in order for @msdhoni. He was felicitated by The Cricket Club of India before the start of game today #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/EqOCpcxwwK
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2017
1:24 pm IST: Here’s a look at the England XI:
ENGLAND XI: Roy, Hales, Billings, Morgan, Buttler, Moeen, Dawson, Woakes, Rashid, Willey, Ball
LIVE | https://t.co/kaakvdZ6tc
— HT Sports (@HTSportsNews) January 10, 2017
1:13 pm IST: Dhoni has been feted by the Cricket Club of India. This has been a wonderful gesture for one India’s best cricket captains. (Read: According to Ravi Shastri, Ganguly not among best skippers in India)
The Cricket Club of India felicitates @msdhoni for his contribution to Indian Cricket as Captain of #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/Op08ywQtwv
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 10, 2017
1:08 pm IST: England XI win toss and will field vs India A.
The two big hitters of Indian Cricket @YUVSTRONG12 and @msdhoni are back together. Expect plenty of fireworks in #INDvENG series. pic.twitter.com/m1FZxcSk6I
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 9, 2017
Old habits die hard. On Monday, Mahendra Singh Dhoni was amongst the first to come out for the practice session at the iconic Brabourne Stadium. As the rest of the squad members went about playing a customary football match, Dhoni too joined in and even scored a goal. Football, of course, was his first love.
India A team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (R) warms up with team mates during a training session at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) stadium in Mumbai on Monday. (AFP)
Old habits die hard. After captaining India for nine years, Dhoni monitored the net session for around 30 minutes before finally padding up for a stint in the nets that lasted for close to two hours under lights.
.@YUVSTRONG12 talks about comeback, transition in captaincy from @msdhoni to @imVkohli & more https://t.co/V6iwezKIpR #TeamIndia #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/DXLHa2PepJ
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 9, 2017
England, who got thrashed 4-0 in the five-match Test series before Christmas last year in India, will like to gain the maximum from this match. Limited overs skipper Eoin Morgan knows that the Indians are a deadly lot in the shorter format of the game. The India A team is studded with IPL stars like Shikhar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ambati Rayudu and Ashish Nehra.
The Cricket Club of India should see a full house. Entry for the day-night match is free.
India A (From): YS Chahal, S Dhawan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, S Kaul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mandeep Singh, A Nehra, HH Pandya, AT Rayudu, SV Samson, MM Sharma, Yuvraj Singh
England XI (from): MM Ali, JM Bairstow, JT Ball, SW Billings, JC Buttler, LA Dawson, AD Hales, EJG Morgan, LE Plunkett, AU Rashid, JE Root, JJ Roy, BA Stokes, DJ Willey, CR Woakes
Source: HindustanTimes