India 'A' batsmen make merry before Windies escape with a draw

A splendid batting performance from India 'A' raised visions of victory before West Indies 'A' managed to hold on to a draw in the four-day unofficial first Test which concluded in Beckenham on Saturday.

After a batting debacle in the first essay where they were shot out for 133, India's batsmen posted a massive 609 for six in 111 overs, riding on a splendid career-best 188 from Prithvi Shaw, a 137 by Ravikumar Samarth and an equally useful 93 by skipper Karun Nair.

This was after they were trailing by 150 runs in the first innings. Needing 360 to win in 76 overs, West Indies were never in contention, as they finished on 245 for seven in the stipulated overs with Jermaine Blackwood scoring 61.

Among the bowlers, Navdeep Saini put up a much improved performance in the second innings, ending with two for 41 in 14 overs, while spinners Shahbaz nadeem and Jayant Yadav also chipped in with two wickets apiece.

West Indies were in trouble at 188 for six at one stage with more than 20 overs left. However, Raymon Reifer offered stiff resistance with 11 not out from 74 balls and Rahkeem Cornwall scored 40 as the duo defended for around 18 overs to save the Caribbeans from what would have been an embarrassing defeat.

Earlier, India 'A' started the final day at 536 for four with skipper Karun resuming on 77. India 'A' quickly added 73 runs in 11 overs but the skipper missed out on a three-figure mark as he was dismissed for 93, after hitting 11 fours in his 154-ball knock.

It was keeper Kona Bharat, who hit a quickfire 33 off 25 balls to take India past the 600-run mark before they declared their second innings.

Brief Scores:

India 'A' 133 and 609 for six declared (Prithvi Shaw 188, Ravikumar Samarth 137, Karun Nair 93)

West Indies 'A' 383 and 245 for seven (Jermaine Blackwood 61, Rahkeem Cornwall 40, Navdeep Saini 2/41, Shahbaz Nadeem 2/81, Jayant Yadav 2/73).