India’s first match in the 2025-2027 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle will be against England in a long 5-Test series. Before this, India A team is playing 2 unofficial 4-day matches with England Lions. These matches are like a practice opportunity where new players are taking a chance to show their game.
The first match started in Canterbury
The first match started on May 30, Friday at St. Lawrence Ground in Canterbury. England Lions won the toss and decided to field first.
India A team has some young and promising players who have formed a strong line-up, such as:
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Karun Nair
- Dhruv Jurel
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Shardul Thakur
All of them have also been selected for the main India squad. The team captain is Abhimanyu Easwaran, who himself is a part of the senior squad.
How to watch the match in India?
Fans in India can live stream these matches on the official website of ECB. The live stream of the first match started from 3:30 PM IST.
Second Match & Intra-Squad Game Details
The second unofficial test will be held in Northampton from June 6-9.
After that, India A and the main Indian team will play an intra-squad match in Beckenham from June 13-16.
Finally, the first Test match of India vs England will start on June 20 in Leeds.
KL Rahul’s Entry & Coaches’ Support
Senior batsman KL Rahul is also going to join the India A team for another unofficial Test. He will reportedly leave for the UK on Monday.
The coaching staff is also strong:
- Hrishikesh Kanitkar: India A’s head coach (he was also the coach of the women’s team earlier).
- Troy Cooley: Bowling coach, currently associated with BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.
- Ryan ten Doeschate: Assistant coach of Indian men’s team, he too was asked to join India A before the first match.
First Day Highlight
India A 1st Innings – 409/3 (90 Overs, RR: 4.54)
| Batsman | Dismissal | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | SR |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | c †Rew b Jack | 24 | 55 | 3 | 1 | 43.63 |
| Abhimanyu Easwaran (c) | lbw b Hull | 8 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 47.05 |
| Karun Nair | not out | 186 | 246 | 24 | 1 | 75.60 |
| Sarfaraz Khan | c †Rew b Hull | 92 | 119 | 13 | 0 | 77.31 |
| Dhruv Jurel † | not out | 82 | 104 | 9 | 1 | 78.84 |
| Extras | 17 | |||||
| Total | (90 Overs) | 409/3 |
Yet to Bat:
Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Harsh Dubey, Anshul Kamboj, Harshit Rana, Mukesh Kumar
Fall of Wickets:
- 1-12 (Abhimanyu Easwaran, 5.5 ov)
- 2-51 (Yashasvi Jaiswal, 16.5 ov)
- 3-232 (Sarfaraz Khan, 55.6 ov)
England Lions Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy | NB | WD |
| Ajeet Singh Dale | 19 | 3 | 69 | 0 | 3.63 | 1 | 0 |
| Josh Hull | 14 | 2 | 51 | 2 | 3.64 | 0 | 0 |
| Zaman Akhter | 16 | 3 | 70 | 0 | 4.37 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Jack | 15 | 2 | 51 | 1 | 3.40 | 0 | 0 |
| Rehan Ahmed | 16 | 0 | 95 | 0 | 5.93 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Mousley | 8 | 0 | 48 | 0 | 6.00 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Haines | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 | 0 | 0 |
England Lions Playing XI
Tom Haines, Ben McKinney, Emilio Gay, Max Holden, James Rew (c)†, Dan Mousley, Rehan Ahmed, Zaman Akhter, Eddie Jack, Josh Hull, Ajeet Singh Dale
A new chapter will begin
This Test series will be India’s first big Test series without R Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli. This can also be called the beginning of a new era where young talents will get a big chance.
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