Nadeem, Saha and Dube star as India 'A' take 1-0 lead against West Indies 'A'
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The Indian 'A' team continued to impress on their tour to the Windies, as they clinched the first unofficial test against West Indies 'A' on Saturday. Fifties from Wriddhiman Saha, Shivam Dube and a 10-wicket haul from Shabaz Nadeem helped India seal victory in the first match at Antigua.
After an impressive showing in the white-ball matches, the India 'A' team started their red-ball campaign on a winning note as they beat the West Indies 'A' team by six wickets to go 1-0 up in the series. Resuming Day 4 on 29/1, India needed just 68 runs to win the match, with Abhimanyu Easwaran and skipper Hanuma Vihari taking the crease.
After losing Easwaran soon after, Vihari strung together a healthy 49-run partnership with KS Bharat, before the duo were sent back to the hut by spin twins Jomel Warrican and Rahkeem Cornwall. But Wriddhiman Saha and Shivam Dube, who starred in the first innings scoring 66 and 71 respectively, ensured that they took the team home safely, as India raised to a 1-0 lead in the series.
Earlier, Jharkhand spinner Shahbaz Nadeem stood out with the ball as he toppled the Windies batting line-up taking 10 wickets in the match - five in each innings. The encounter also proved to be fruitful for Priyank Panchal with the bat who struck a well-composed 49 in the first innings and Mohammad Siraj with the ball, who claimed five wickets in the match, including a three-fer in the second innings.
The teams will now travel to Port of Spain to play the second of the three unofficial Tests which will commence on July 31.
