West Indies A recover to post 252
Three wickets each for Bengal medium-pacer Shami Ahmed and legspinner Rahul Sharma helped India A bowl out West Indies A for a modest 252
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Jun-2012
Three wickets each for Bengal medium-pacer Shami Ahmed and legspinner Rahul Sharma helped India A bowl out West Indies A for a modest 252 on the first day in Barbados.
India made a strong start to the series after electing to field as Ahmed and Co reduced the home side to 126 for 7, before two unlikely sources of resistance led West Indies' recovery.
Devon Thomas, the Leewards Islands wicketkeeper-batsman, made only his second first-class half-century in nearly three years and captain Veerasammy Permaul scored his maiden fifty to lift West Indies past 200. The pair collected 92 runs for the eighth wicket before Rahul Sharma bowled Thomas for 57.
There was a 44-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Nkrumah Bonner and Jonathan Carter but little defiance otherwise from the top-and-middle order.
This is an important series for both the home side's openers: Lendl Simmons, who scored 792 runs at 49.50 in ODIs for West Indies last year, was returning from a finger injury which kept him out of top-flight cricket since February, while Kraigg Brathwaite was trying to re-stake his claim for a Test opening slot after being dropped following a dismal series against Australia. Neither of them could make an impact though, as they were both dismissed for 11.
Brathwaite battled for more than an hour before becoming the first of Ahmed's three victims. Besides Ahmed, another Bengal medium-pacer Ashok Dinda had a decent outing, as he shook off the side strain which kept him out of the second half of the IPL, to bowl 17 overs for one wicket.