Flintoff Glorious 100 against mumbai Xl

A quick-fire 85-ball unbeaten 100 by all-rounder Andrew Flintoff helped England start their India tour on a bright note as they trounced Mumbai XI by 122 runs in their first practice match at the Brabourne Stadium here today.

Batting first, England made 297 runs for the loss of four wickets in their allotted 50 overs, riding mainly on Flintoff`s 100 not out and Owais Shah`s 83.

In reply, Mumbai XI ended at 175 for 8 in 50 overs with Abhijeet Shethye top-scoring with 50.

England began on a shaky note losing the wicket of opener Matt Prior (13), bowled by Vinit Sinha, in the fifth over of the innings.

But a partnership of 78 runs by Ian Bell (58) and Owais Shah (83) for the second wicket brought up the 100-run mark for the English team.

Flintoff, whose splendid knock contained 12 fours and three towering sixes, was dropped twice while on 7 and 27.

Chasing a target of 298 runs, Mumbai XI were in a tight spot throughout the match, losing wickets at regular intervals.

Besides Shethye`s knock of 50 from 118 balls, other contributors were Paul Valthaty (25) and Shashant Singh (23).

James Anderson (3-15), Samit Patel (2-38), Flintoff (1-22) and Graeme Swann (1-37) shared the spoils for England.

“The century before the season is good,” Flintoff said after the match.