ALASTAIR Cook began his reign as England’s full-time Test captain with an unbeaten century that revived the tourists in their opening match of the Indian tour on Wednesday (October 31).
The left-handed opener was on 112 and Samit Patel made 82 not out as England fought back to post 286-4 by stumps on the second day of the three-day match against India ‘A’ at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai.
The tourists, preparing for the four-Test series against India which starts in Ahmedabad on November 15, are still 83 behind the 369 made by India ‘A’ in their first innings.
Jonathan Trott scored 56 during a second-wicket stand of 95 with Cook after rookie opener Nick Compton, grandson of former England batsman Denis Compton, failed to score.
Kevin Pietersen, playing for the first time in an England shirt since August, hit a six and three boundaries before being dismissed for 23.
Yuvraj Singh followed his 59 on Tuesday (October 30) with the wickets of Pietersen and Ian Bell in successive overs of left-arm spin to reduce the tourists to 133-4 midway through the post-lunch session.
Patel helped Cook rebuild the innings with an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 153 and emerge a strong contender for a middle-order berth in the first Test.
Cook, who led England in two Tests in Bangladesh in 2010, took over as full-time captain in August when Andrew Strauss retired after the series defeat against South Africa at home.
The tourists take on Mumbai ‘A’ in a three-day game from Saturday (November 3) and play state side Haryana in a four-day match in Ahmedabad from November 8.
Brief scores:
India ‘A’ 1st innings: 369 (Abhinav Mukund 73, Yuvraj Singh 59, Manoj Tiwary 93, Irfan Pathan 46, Graeme Swann 3-90, Tim Bresnan 3-59)
England 1st innings: 286-4 (Alastair Cook 112 not out, Jonathan Trott 56, Kevin Pietersen 23, Samit Patel 82 not out, Yuvraj Singh 2-52)
