Yuvraj claims five wickets, England take small lead

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All-rounder Yuvraj Singh claimed five wickets even as the visiting England team grabbed a 57-run lead over India A in the three-day practice game that was headed for a tame draw on the final day in Mumbai on Thursday.

England, replying to the home side’s first innings total of 369, were dismissed for 426, half hour after lunch with Yuvraj finishing with impressive figures of 5 for 94 in 26.5 overs.

Captain and lanky left-handed opener Alastair Cook and middle-order batsman Samit Patel notched up centuries while Jonathan Trott and Matt prior hit half tons for England ahead of the four-Test series against India commencing later this month.

By tea, India A had wiped off the deficit by reaching 68 for the loss of one wicket in 20 overs. Abhinav Mukund, who made 73 in the first innings, fell for 3 in the second off James Anderson with 4 on the board.

At the end of the second period of play, the other opener Murali Vijay (32 in 58 balls) and Ajinkya Rahane (33 in 49 balls) were the not out batsmen.

Only one session remains to be played out in the first of the three warm-up encounters scheduled for the visitors before the opening Test at Ahmedabad from November 15-19.

The attention in the morning session from the home ranks was grabbed by Yuvraj, who has come back after almost a year out of it when he underwent treatment for a rare form of germ cell cancer near his lungs. He took three wickets on Thursday to add to his two secured Wednesday.

Cook’s wicket was claimed by Ashok Dinda, who secured 2 for 86 after having accounted for the England skipper’s opening partner Nick Compton yesterday. Vinay Kumar sent back Graeme Swann.

Resuming at the overnight 286 for 4, England initially made slow progress against the medium pace duo of Ashok Dinda and Irfan Pathan, who is expected to make the first Test squad at Ahmedabad.