WICB President’s XI hold India to a draw in warm-up match

WICB President’s XI hold India to a draw in warm-up match

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Written by: Arun S Kaimal

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File picture from third Test match between Australia and the West Indies at SCG on January 3, 2016.

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© Gettyimages

West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI earned a hard-fought draw against India in the second warm-up match at Basseterre. A couple of gritty innings from Jermaine Blackwood and Montcin Hodge helped the home side bat out the day and to finish on 223 for 6 despite R Ashwin’s three-wicket haul.

Brief Scores : WICB XI 180 all out and 223/6 in 86 overs (Blackwood 51(143); R Ashwin 3/59) drew against India 364 all out in 105.4 overs (KL Rahul 64(127), Ravindra Jadeja 56(61); Rahkeem Cornwall 5/118)

WICB President’s XI resumed their second innings from the overnight score of 26/1 with Joel Campbell and Shai Hope in the middle. With a win for WICB out of the equation, the batsmen started slowly and looked in hurry to get runs. But, Campbell upped the ante against Ravindra Jadeja and smashed him for two sixes to signal his attacking intent. However, his innings came to an end after he holed out at mid-on in the 21st over of Jadeja.

Few overs later, Shai Hope also returned to the pavilion after he edged one to Virat Kohli at leg slip to give Ashwin his second of the innings. But, Jermaine Blackwood, who is part of the West Indies team for the first Test, thwarted India’s hopes of a win by forming a 62-run stand with Vishaul Singh.

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With the match drifting towards a draw, WICB gave India another chance to get a win after a run-out ended the partnership between Blackwood and Vishaul Singh. After Vishaul’s departure for 39, Blackwood took the innings forward and reached his fifty before getting bowled off Ashwin.

In the final session of the day, India needed five more wickets to bowl out the opposition. But, Montcin Hodge and Rahkeem Cornwall thwarted any remaining hopes and played counter-attacking knocks to take WICB into the lead. Although Mohammad Shami removed Cornwall with the new ball, Hodge and Jahmar Hamilton made sure that the match ended in a draw.

With two draws in the two warm-up matches, India will now head to North Sound, Antigua to take on West Indies in the first match of the four-Test series from July 21.

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