Ajinkya Rahane finally hit some form with the bat as he led India to a draw against West Indies ‘A’ in the three-day practice match at Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
Rahane, who opened the innings for his side on Monday scored 54 but batted out time as he faced 162 balls in India’s second innings. He also added a 96-run stand for the second wicket along with Hanuma Vihari who followed up his first-innings of 37 not out with an excellent 64.
Rahane had been struggling for form since he began his maiden county stint with a century for Hampshire in May.
The Indian vice-captain was not the best of form at the international level. And the upcoming two-match Test series against West Indies will be crucial to his future with the national team.
India declared their second innings on 188/5 to have a go at West Indies A in the final session of the last day. The likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who did not feature in the first innings got an opportunity to both bat and bowl in the second innings.
Both Rishabh Pant and Wriddhiman Saha, who is making a comeback after a long injury layoff, got an opportunity to bat on Day 3.
West Indies A put on 47 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 21 overs when both the captains decided to call the practice match a draw.
India will now take on West Indies in the two-match Test series. It will also be the first World Test Championship match for the two teams respectively, starting on August 22 at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Brief Scores:
India 297/5 (Cheteshwar Pujara 100; Jonathan Carter 3-39) & 188/5 (Hanuma Vihari 64; Akim Frazer 2-43) drew with West Indies A 187 (Kavem Hodge 51; Umesh Yadav 3-19) & 47/3 (Jeremy Solozano 16; Ravindra Jadeja 1-3).
