India 'A' failed to maintain the momentum garnered from emphatic wins in back-to-back warm-up games as a thoroughly professional England Lions cruised to a seven-wicket victory in the opening encounter of the Tri-nation 'A' series, in Derby, on Friday.
Left-handed opener Nick Gubbins anchored the innings to perfection with an unbeaten 128 as Lions chased down a modest target of 233 in only 41.5 overs.
Gubbins' innings was studded with 10 boundaries and two sixes. He added 134 for the second wicket with Sam Hain (54) and 61 for the third wicket with Liam Livingstone (27) to finish the match in style.
The two Indian spinners -- offie Krishnappa Gowtham (0/51 in 7 overs) and left-arm orthodox Krunal Pandya (0/57 in 8.5 overs) proved to be costly as they leaked a lot of runs.
Earlier, India 'A' captain Shreyas Iyer opted to bat but unlike warm-up games against second string side, his batsmen couldn't relive the magic.
Both openers Prithvi Shaw (7) and Mayank Agarwal (24) were uncomfortable against the swing bowling of Tom Helm (3/33) and Reece Topley (1/35).
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