Delray Rawlins’ gritty unbeaten knock of 124 helped England under-19 recover from 1/3 at one stage to 243/5 when stumps were drawn on day one of the second Youth Test against India under-19 in Nagpur on Tuesday.
Batting first England had been pushed onto the back foot as India’s pacers ran through their top-order. India pacers Kanishk Seth (1/54) and Rishabh Bhagat (2/39) sent England’s top-three batsmen back into the pavilion with just one run on the board.
Rawlins though was their saviour, as he rallied through the day to keep the visitors in the game. He first found support from Ollie Pope (42) and later by Will Jacks (66*). Rawlins and Jacks shared an undefeated 131-run partnership for the sixth wicket, and took England to a respectable total.
After surviving the first two sessions Rawlins, with Jacks by his side went about dominating the Indian bowlers who seemed to have lost their bite after the initial flourish. England dominated the final session, scoring 91 runs without losing a wicket. Rawlins brought up his hundred soon after play resumed in the post-tea session. He played with a little more freedom after the milestone was achieved. In all his 254-ball knock included 16 boundaries and two sixes.
Brief scores:
- England U-19 243/5 (Delray Rawlins 124*, Will Jacks 66*; Rishab Bhagat 2/39, Harsh Tyagi 1/60) vs India U-19.