England Lions tame India A in tri-series final

Cheteshwar Pujara's brilliant unbeaten 87 went in vain as Andrew Gale scripted a successful run-chase to help England Lions beat India A by five wickets in the final of the tri-series tournament at Worcester.

Pujara, who finished as the tournament's highest run-getter, and Abhinav Mukund (62) guided India A to an imposing 278 for seven after England Lions won the toss and elected to field.

But India's bowling lacked teeth to defend the total as Gale, who top scored with 90, Steve Davies (55) and Darren Stevens (68 off 53 balls) helped England Lions romp home with eight balls to spare.

Jaidev Unadkat was the pick of the bowlers for India A with two wickets, while Jaskaran Singh, Iqbal Abdulla and Shikhar Dhawan scalped one wicket a piece.

Earlier, India A made a good start with openers Mukund and Dhawan adding 68 runs in the first ten overs. However, from there on, the England Lions kept India A in check and affected timely breakthroughs with left-arm spinner Stephen Parry scalping three wickets.

Brief Scores:

India A: 278 for 7 in 50 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara not out 87, Abhinav Mukund 62; Stephen Parry 3-48, Liam Plunkett 2-51).

England Lions: 279 for 5 in 48.4 overs (Steve Davies 55, Andrew Gale 90, Darren Stevens 68; Jaidev Unadkat 2-46).