• Source:JND
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IND vs IND-A, Intra-Squad Match: Sarfaraz Khan had a remarkable outing during the second day of the the intra squad between India and India A in Beckenham on Saturday. Star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a duck, whereas Sarfaraz Khan was retired out after scoring a hundred while batting for India A.

The Indian team is gearing up for the all-important five-match Test series against England which is scheduled to start from June 20 in Leeds. While BCCI had informed on Friday that KL Rahul and skipper Shubman Gill had scored half-centuries on Day 1 of the intra-squad game, with Shardul Thakur being among the wickets, no such update was provided on Saturday.

However, BCCI posted a bunch of pictures from the game on the day, where Ravindra Jadeja was seen bowling with Sarfaraz on the crease, and most importantly, ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah was also seen bowling.

Sarfaraz reportedly scored 101 runs whereas Abhimanyu Easwaran (39) and Ishan Kishan (45 not out) played handy knocks. India all-rounder Washington Sundar, who came in to bat twice, scored 0 and 35. On the other hand, young batting sensation Sai Sudharsan (India), who has already impressed in domestic cricket and the recently-concluded Indian Premier League season, scored 38 runs.

After impressive with the ball on the first day, Shardul came up with an impact while batting and remained unbeaten on 19 runs.

The intra-sqaud game acts like a preparatory assignment to the Test match. The Indian team under head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is currently in India due to a family emergency, opted for a "closed door" session to prevent the opposition from getting any ideas on the tactical front. They had done the same during the tour of Australia earlier this year.

Interestingly, Bumrah went wicketless and have away 36 runs in seven overs whereas Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna found two scalps each. However, Siraj ended up on the expensive side, conceding 86 runs for his scalps. Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who earned his maiden call-up to the Test side, also went without a wicket during the session.

Sarfaraz smashed 15 fours and two sixes during his impressive effort as India A finished the day at 299/6 in response to India’s 459. Earlier, Sarfaraz played an incredible knock of 92 runs against the England Lions in Canterbury in the first unofficial Test.