Canterbury, May 30 -- India A captain Abhimanyu Easwaran flopped on the opening day of the first unofficial Test, while Yashasvi Jaiswal exuded confidence but eventually gave in to his attacking instincts against England Lions on Friday.

At the stroke of Lunch, India A put 86/2 on the board, with Sarfaraz Khan and Karun Nair unbeaten with scores of 17(31) and 26(60), respectively.

After winning the toss, England Lions forced India A to bat on a sunny day at Canterbury's strip covered in grass. Skipper Easwaran and the young sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal came out to open with hopes of getting valuable game time before the five high-stakes fixtures between the two modern-day giants.

Easwaran, a household name in India's domestic circuit and...