Akim Frazer and Chemar Holder took three wickets each as West Indies A bowled out India A for 201 on the first day of the third unofficial Test in Trinidad. The hosts finished the day at 23 for 1 at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy.
Electing to bowl, West Indies A bowlers were right on the money as Miguel Cummins dismissed Abhimanyu Easwaran bowled for nought. Frazer got his first wicket in the form of Mayank Agarwal who made a fighting 33. Shubman Gill fell a ball later for a duck, becaming Frazer’s second victim.
India A were in deep trouble as Frazer picked up his third wicket, that of Priyank Panchal, and the score read 48 for 4.
India Test players Hanuma Vihari and Wriddhiman Saha then held fort and scored contrasting half-centuries to rescue their team. The duo put on 86-run partnership for the fifth wicket and led India A’s fightback.
The partnership was broken by Yannic Cariah as Saha was caught by Holder for 62, which remained the top score of the innings. Shivam Dube then joined Vihari and shared another fifty-run partnership. But Cariah and Holder combined to cause a lower-order collapse and India A lost their last five wickets for only 11 runs.
West Indies A opened with Montcin Hodge and Jeremy Solozan who batted with caution at the start of the innings. But the former was dismissed by K Gowtham before close of play. West Indies A ended the day at 23 for 1, still 178 runs behind India A.
Brief scores: India A 201 (Wriddhiman Saha 62, Hanuma Vihari 55; Chemar Holder 3-47, Akim Frazer 3-53) vs West Indies A 23/1 (Montcin Hodge 15; K Gowtham 1-6)
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!