Permaul stars as Windies 'A' beat India 'A' in thriller

The India 'A' team's poor run of form in the Caribbean continues. They lost the first of the three-match unofficial ODI series against the West Indies 'A' by two wickets in a last-over thriller, in St George's Grenada.

Opting to bat at the National Stadium, India 'A' were all out for a meagre 190 in their allotted 50 overs, West Indies skipper Veerasammy Permaul picking four wickets.

Ajinkya Rahane top-scored for the Indians with a fine 58.

The home side also lost wickets at regular intervals in their run-chase. At one stage they were 158 for eight and it looked like India would pull off a sensational victory.

But tail-enders Permaul and Nikita Miller put together an unbeaten 35-run stand for the ninth wicket to seal the match with three balls to spare.

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan (30) and Rahane gave India a decent start, while Manoj Tiwary (26) and Jalaj Saxena (22) chipped in with some valuable runs even as the Windies bowlers kept the visitors in check by taking wickets at regular intervals.

Permaul, who returned to lead the West Indies 'A' after missing the two-match Twenty20 series, was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4 for 33. Jason Holder (2 for 30) and Jonathan Carter (2 for 41) also contributed to the team's success.

In reply, the West Indies lost Adrian Barath (5) early, but Kieran Powell (25) and Kirk Edwards (33) steadied the boat.

Thereafter, Carter, who hit a solid 39, and Assad Fudadin (26) always kept the hosts within reach of the target.

Ashok Dinda (3 for 45) continued with his good form and was well-supported by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2 for 14) and part-time spinner Rohit Sharma (2 for 32), but man-of-the-match Permaul (22 not out) and Miller (12 not out) held their nerves to guide West Indies 'A' to a thrilling victory.

Brief scores:

India 'A': 190 all out in 50 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 58, Shikhar Dhawan 30, Manoj Tiwary 26; Veerasammy Permaul 4/28, Jason Holder 2/30, Jonathan Carter 2/41).

West Indies 'A': 193 for eight in 49.3 overs (Jonathan Carter 39, Kirk Edwards 33; Ashok Dinda 3/35, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/14).