India A beat England XI by six wickets in the second warm-up match at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday.

Captain for the day Ajinkya Rahane, top scored for the hosts with a 83-ball 91 as the Indians reached a target of 283 with more than 10 overs to spare.

Rahane was ably supported by Sheldon Jackson and Rishabh Pant, both of whom notched up half-centuries.

Indian fans will be particularly heartened by Pant’s performance. The highly rated 19-year-old, who has been picked for the T20Is against England, scored 59 from just 36 deliveries in a knock which included eight fours and two sixes.

Suresh Raina also made a handy contribution, scoring 45 from 34 balls.

Earlier in the day, a middle-order collapse saw England XI in deep trouble at one point, but Adil Rashid and David Willey’s efforts saw them reach a score of 282.

Alex Hales and Jonny Bairstow both scored half-centuries which will serve as encouraging signs for England before the start of the ODI series.

For India, Parvez Rasool was the pick of the bowlers – with three wickets to his name. Pradeep Sangwan, Ashok Dinda and Shahbaz Nadeem all took two scalps a piece.

BRIEF SCORES

England XI 282 all out – 48.5 overs [Bairstow 64, Hales, 51, Rasool 3-38] lost to India A 283-4 – 39.4 overs [Rahane 91, Pant 59, Jackson 59] by six wickets.