Karun Nair was elegance personified while serving a timely reminder to the Gautam Gambhir-led team management with a classy unbeaten 186 as India A cruised to 409/3 against England Lions on the opening day of the first four-day match in Canterbury on Friday.

Nair, who was dropped on 89 off pacer Ajeet Singh Dale at first slip, looked at ease during his unbeaten 246-ball knock. The 33-year-old, who is part of the India squad for the Test series in England, used his experience of playing for English County Northamptonshire to bring up his 24th first-class ton. His innings had 24 fours and one six.

While Nair made a big statement, Sarfaraz Khan (92 off 119 balls) missed out on a hundred. Sarfaraz, who has failed to get a Test call-up, was cautious to begin with, but opened up after his fifty.

The Nair-Sarfaraz duo added 181 runs for the third wicket. After Sarfara’s dismissal, Dhruv Jurel (82 batting, 104 balls) joined Nair and stitched a 177-run unbeaten stand for the fourth wicket.

The England Lions’ attack was too dull to challenge the Indians. They conceded 51 boundaries and three sixes in 90 overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (24 off 55 balls) played out the first hour but didn’t utilise the start, while captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (8) fell cheaply.

Brief scores: India A 409/3 (Karun Nair 186 batting, Sarfaraz Khan 92, Dhruv Jurel 82 batting; Josh Hull 2/51) vs England Lions. At stumps, Day I.

With inputs from PTI

Day 2 live on Sony Liv from 3.30 pm (IST)