India 'A' hoping captain Yuvraj fires again vs Windies

High on confidence after their comprehensive win in the opening match, India 'A' would look to seal the three-match unofficial ODI series against West Indies 'A' in the second game at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, on Tuesday.

Skipper Yuvraj Singh stole the limelight with a breathtaking century to guide India 'A' to a thumping 77-run win over the visitors in the opening match and the hosts would be looking for another magical knock from the left-hander.

All eyes were trained on on Yuvraj on Sunday after he was handed a lifeline to return to the ODI team by being named captain of the India 'A' team. And the dashing left-hander grabbed the opportunity with both hands and staked his claim for a national berth by scoring a brutal 89-ball 123 against the hapless Caribbeans in the opening match.

The left-hander produced a sensational exhibition of strokeplay by hitting eight fours and seven sixes in his scintillating innings to help India raise 312 for four in 42 overs after being put to bat in the rain-hit match.

India 'A' then bowled out the visitors for 235 in 39.1 overs, giving the home side a 1-0 lead in the series.

During his dazzling knock, Yuvraj was also involved in two big partnerships with Mandeep Singh (67) and Yusuf Pathan (70 not out), who played perfect second fiddle to the
left-hander.

Just like Yuvraj, Yusuf -- who is also looking for a comeback to the ODI team -- displayed his attacking skills and tore apart the West Indies bowling attack to slam a quickfire 70 from 32 balls with the help of four boundaries and six hits over the fence.

But openers Robin Uthappa and Unmukt Chand, both of whom excelled against New Zealand 'A', failed with the bat in the first match and both would be looking to make the opportunity count in the second match.

Uthappa, who is in ODI exile, in particular would be hoping an improved showing with the bat to catch the eyes of national selectors ahead of the limited overs series against the West Indies and South Africa.

R Vinay Kumar impressed with the ball after India 'A' were hit by the double withdrawal of Irfan Pathan and Praveen Kumar because of injuries.

The quartet of Vinay Kumar, Sumit Narwal, Rahul Sharma and Yusuf Pathan kept taking wickets at regular intervals to keep the visitors under pressure right through their innings.

The West Indies 'A', on the other hand, who performed well during their home series against Sri Lanka 'A' in June, will look for improvement.

The Caribbean side would be hoping for a better show from their top-order batsmen, especially Kirk Edward, who became the 14th West Indian batsman to score a century on his Test debut and third West Indian to score a debut hundred against India.

The West Indies 'A' top order -- Nkruma Bonner (16), captain Kieran Powell (17) and Edwards (19) were guilty of throwing away their wickets after getting off to a start and they would be keen to avoid similar mistakes in the rest of the series.

Narsingh Deonaraine (57) and Ashley Nurse (57) were the only two batsmen who showed intent with fighting half-centuries but failed to get enough support from the other batsmen.

The visitors are also banking on fireworks from all-rounder Andre Russel, who has a reputation of winning matches on his own.

The series is an opportunity for a number of young West Indian players to show their skills, especially with the senior team set to tour India next month.

And the likes of skipper Powell, vice-captain Veerasammy Permaul, Russell, Andre Fletcher, Devon Thomas, Edwards, Nikita Miller and Deonarine, all of whom have
featured in the senior team, would be hoping to impress upon the selectors.

India 'A': Yuvraj Singh (captain), Unmukt Chand, Robin Uthappa, Baba Aparajith, Kedar Jadhav, Naman Ojha (w/k), Yusuf Pathan, R Vinay Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Siddharth Kaul, Sumit Narwal, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mandeep Singh, Rahul Sharma.

West Indies 'A': Kieran Powell (captain), Veerasammy Permaul, Ronsford Beaton, Nkrumah Bonner, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Kirk Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Leon Johnson, Nikita Miller, Ashley Nurse, Andre Russell, and Devon Thomas.

Match starts at 0900 hours IST on September 17 in Bangalore.