West Indies flog India hopefuls

West Indies 341 for 2 (Hinds 147, Sarwan 93*, Gayle 62) lead Indian Board President's XI 275 for 8 dec by 66 runs If the idea was to induce a false sense of security among the tourists, the Board President's XI got it right. The West Indian top order flogged a bowling attack comprising India's best spin-bowling hopes and piled up 341 runs for the loss of two wickets on the second day of the tour opener.

Wavell Hinds led the charge with a stroke-filled 147 off 183 balls and added 128 runs for the first wicket with Chris Gayle who hit an equally aggressive 62 off 99. None of the bowlers were able to make an impact, till Gayle fell, against the run of play, to Sarandeep Singh. But Ramnaresh Sarwan was quickly into his stride and West Indies didn't lose another wicket till they passed the Board President's XI's first-innings score of 275. Hinds fell lbw to left-arm orthodox spinner Murali Kartik, who had an otherwise unimpressive outing.

Sarwan carried on in the company of Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and was poised for a century at close of play. Of the Board President's XI bowlers, legspinner Amit Mishra was the most impressive even though he failed to capture a wicket. Medium pacer Tinu Yohannan was profligate, conceding 64 runs in 14 lacklustre overs. It wasn't a surprise thus that when the Indian team was announced at the end of thr day, Mishra found himself in and Yohannan was out.