Leicester: The Indian bowlers struggled to contain Leicestershire batsmen even under favourable conditions as the hosts reached a solid 249 for one at tea, riding on centuries from Angus Robson and Greg Smith on the third and final day of the warm-up match on Saturday.
The visitors tried all their front-line bowlers with the exception of R Ashwin, and almost all of them were taken for easy runs by the batsmen. Opener Robson (126) and number three batsman Smith (101) put on an unbeaten 221-run partnership for the second wicket, heaping a lot of misery on the Indian bowlers who were struggling to find their belongings in the English conditions.
In the short pre-lunch session, India had managed to send down 13 overs during which the hosts raced to 71 for one. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0-46) opened the bowling for India and struggled to hit a good length. He bowled a seven-over spell during which he gave away runs at nearly seven-per-over and was hit for ten boundaries.
Good cloud cover and a stiff breeze made it the perfect time to bowl for medium pacers and Pankaj Singh (1/22) at the other end made perfect use of the same with a six-over spell.
The Rajasthan bowler was on the money right away, bowling with a good rhythm and consistently troubling both the batsmen. He was rewarded for his efforts when Matthew Boyce (4) was out caught driving on the up as Ajinkya Rahane pulled off a stunning one-handed catch at third slip.
After lunch, rain stopped nearly 25 minutes into the second session and play only resumed after 75 minutes in all had been lost. It then became a nightmare for the visitors as Robson and Smith turned the screws with attacking batting.
Brief scores: India: 333/4 decl vs Lecistershire: 249/1 (A Robson 126, G Smith 101)
