India A lose openers, need 164 more for win
On a day in which the bowlers held all the aces, India A restricted West Indies A to a second-innings score of 210, but then found themselves struggling at 22 for three at close of play. India needed a further 164 runs from the final day in order to secure a 1-0 lead in the series.
On a day in which the bowlers held all the aces, India A restricted West Indies A to a second-innings score of 210, but then found themselves struggling at 22 for three at close of play. India needed a further 164 runs from the final day in order to secure a 1-0 lead in the series.
Rohit Sharma, who made 94 in the first innings, chipped in with the ball, picking up four West Indies A lower order wickets to top the India A bowling figures.
West Indies A, resuming at three for no loss, began the day well after conceding a 25-run first innings lead. Openers Lendl Simmons (53) and Kraigg Brathwaite (50) played contrasting innings up front, with Simmons dominating the first-wicket stand of 68 with five fours and two sixes in his 66-ball knock. Brathwaite, on the other hand, scored his half century off 166 balls, holding the top order together as West Indies reached 134 for two at one stage.
Then came the collapse. Six West Indian batsmen were trapped leg before as the hosts slumped to just 210. Bhuvneshwar Kumar led the India A fightback with a six-over spell in the afternoon session, when he took three wickets for nine runs. He ended with three for 44 off 14 overs.
But the unlikely bowling hero for India A was Rohit, the occasional off-spinner, who ended with career-best figures of four for 41 from 16.3 overs. His victims included Veerasammy Permaul, the West Indies A captain.
Batting second, the Indian batsmen made heavy weather of the 186-run target, losing three wickets in an evening session when fast bowlers Jason Holder and Delorn Johnson bowled with pace and movement.
Abhinav Mukund fell for his second duck in the match when he edged Holder to Jonathan Carter at third slip. In his very next over, Holder uprooted Ajinkya Rahane's off stump as the batsman offered no stroke. Rahul Sharma, sent in as a nightwatchman, was the third wicket to fall, caught at second slip off Johnson.
Cheteshwar Pujara, the India A captain, was at the crease on no score having survived two blows on the hand by Johnson. The other unbeaten batsman was Shikhar Dhawan on 13.