MSD fires but India captaincy swansong ends in defeat

TIL Desk Sports/ Mahendra Singh Dhoni did all he could with the willow but England still gatecrashed his party by three wickets, leaving a packed house made up of loyal fans more heartbroken than the home team dressing room, in his last match as leader of an Indian side.

England gave themselves a much-needed boost by beating the Dhoni-led India A side in their first warm-up match ahead of the limited overs series. Ambati Rayudu top-scored with a fine century, while Kuldeep Yadav returned a five-wicket haul but Dhoni was the cynosure of all eyes as he bludgeoned his way to an unbeaten 68 off 40 balls, albeit in a losing cause.

England had enough in reserves to edge out India A and deny Dhoni what would have been a fitting win in his captaincy swansong. Chinaman bowler Yadav sent England, who chased the home side’s challenging score of 304 for five, scurrying for cover but Sam Billings made 93 to push the tourists close to the victory target in the first of two practice games.

Although Billings departed when 15 runs were needed, England completed the win in the 49th over when Chris Woakes (11 not out) struck Mohit Sharma for successive fours to take England to 307 for 7.