WI v IND practice match | Rahane, Vihari strike 50s before West Indies A hold on for draw
Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari struck patient fifties, 52 and 64 respectively, as India set West Indies A a 305-run target on Monday. The hosts then batted out 21 overs, and reached 47 for 3, with Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picking up a wicket each.
Resuming the innings at 84 for 1, Rahane and added 34 more to the total before Vihari was trapped leg-before by Akim Frazer. Rahane, who was the much slower of the two in the 96-run partnership, then, picked his scoring rate and collected a much needed fifty.
However, he fell soon after, and India slipped from 118 for 1 to 162 for five, as Rishabh Pant and Jadeja failed to make good of the opportunities for the second time in the match. Wriddhiman Saha and Ashwin then spent around an hour in the middle before India declared their innings at 188 for 5.Ā
Frazer, who accounted for the wickets of the two half-centurions, was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 43. Romario Shepherd and Khary Pierre bagged a wicket each, while Pant was run out.
Set an impossible target, West Indies A began cautiously, building a solid base in the first half an hour. However, Indiaās bright moment eventually came as Jasprit Bumrah struck in the eighth over, dismissing Kavem Hodge, the top-scorer for the Windies in the first innings. Jadeja and Ashwin, who much like Bumrah failed to pick up a wicket in the first innings, bagged a scalp each before the close of play.Ā
The two nations will now face off in the first of the two-match Test series, which will also be the first ICC World Test Championship match for both, starting on August 22 in Antigua's Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
