Fifties from Hodge, Brooks help West Indies 'A' take command at the end of Day 1
Fifties from Montcin Hodge and Shamarh Brooks helped West Indies 'A' propel their total to 243-5 at the end of Day 1 against the Indian 'A' team. Meanwhile, it was a team effort from India on the field as five different bowlers chipped in with a wicket each to keep the Windies batsmen under check.
West Indies 'A' returned home the happier of the two sides as they ended Day 1 of the second unofficial Test against India at 243-5. Having won the first match comfortably by six wickets, India decided to make several changes to their playing XI as they drafted in Mayank Agarwal, Anmolpreet Singh, and Sandeep Warrier at the expense of Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, and Shahbaz Nadeem.
Winning the toss and opting the bat, the Windies batsmen made a solid start as skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and opener Montcin Hodge put on an 87-run stand for the first wicket before Warrier struck to send Brathwaite back to the hut. Hodge (65) then stitched a 62-run partnership with Shamarh Brooks (53) for the second wicket as the duo took West Indies 'A' to a total of 147-1.
However, the Indian bowlers then struck in quick succession to see the back of both batsmen, fighting back valiantly to reduce the score to 196-5. Mohammad Siraj, Warrier, Shivam Dube, Krishnappa Gowtham, and Mayank Markande all chipped in with a wicket each as West Indies ended the day on 243-5, as Shane Dowrich (24*) and Raymon Reifer (27*) put on an unbeaten 47-run stand for the sixth wicket to end proceedings on Day 1.
With the first Test set to kick-off on the 22, first XI hopefuls Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari would be looking to get valuable time at the middle on Day 2.