Fast bowler Steven Finn gave England cause for concern as he limped out of the attack with a thigh injury after sending down only four overs on the first morning of their India tour.
Finn, a key component in England’s likely Test line-up, was later sent to undergo a scan to identify the source of discomfort in his right leg.
The 6ft 7in Middlesex paceman aborted the second over of his second spell and it was just as well for England that Tim Bresnan was able to step up to the plate.
Alastair Cook won the toss and his decision to field looked questionable as Abhinav Mukund, Yuvraj Singh and Manoj Tiwary hit half-centuries. But a late burst by Bresnan, with two wickets off successive balls, restored the
balance and India A closed on 369 for nine in this three-day match at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
The absence of Finn was sorely felt, particularly while Tiwary and Irfan Pathan were sharing a century stand for the seventh wicket after the hosts had been reduced to 190 for six. Left-arm spinner Samit Patel was harshly treated, his 19 overs costing 95 runs.
Left-handed opener Mukund was far from convincing despite scoring 41 of the first 50 runs and numbering 12 fours in his 57-ball half-century.
Bresnan also had a hand in the first two wickets. First, replacing Finn after his three overs with the new ball, the Yorkshireman was alert, agile and accurate enough — with an under-armed throw — to run out Murali Vijay after Mukund called his partner for a sharp single on the leg-side.
Bresnan then found extra bounce from barely short of a length to have Ajinkya Rahane edging a simple catch off the shoulder of the bat to gully.
Kevin Pietersen, back in an England team for the first time since his summer of discontent, and subsequent reintegration, held the catch. But it took seven minutes for Rahane’s dismissal to be confirmed as the umpires, in accordance with new International Cricket Council protocol, ordered what proved to be a laborious check to rule out a no-ball.
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Once under way again, Bresnan would have had two wickets in two balls had Patel held on to a sharp, low chance at mid-wicket. Having escaped, Yuvraj repaid the unfortunate Patel by smashing him for two fours and a six in his first over.
On the stroke of lunch, Mukund fell to a smart catch at short-leg by Ian Bell off Graeme Swann. But Yuvraj stayed on the attack and reached 50 by hitting Swann for the third of his four sixes.
By then, captain Suresh Raina had gone to another Bell catch at short-leg — this time off Patel — and Yuvraj was soon stumped charging down the pitch to Swann.
Jimmy Anderson returned to trap Wriddiman Saha playing no shot but things went awry until Bresnan bowled Tiwary seven short of a century.
