Chopra shines for India A in drawn tie

Yet again in the Carib Beer Cup, the batting strength of India 'A' shone through, but the lack of bite in the bowling attack could only earn the tourists a draw, and not a win, against Guyana at the Bourda Oval in Georgetown.

India 'A' skipper VVS Laxman, who had not enjoyed a great tour with the bat till this game, opted to bat first after winning the toss, but his side's batsmen let him down to some extent in the first innings. India 'A' could only notch up 249 and were bowled out inside the first day, with Laxman himself top-scoring with 70. Connor Williams made 54, but few of othe other batsmen could make a significant score after getting a start.

In reply, Guyana were in fact struggling in their first innings, at one stage reeling on 228 for seven. Avishkar Salvi was the chief cause of that, taking quick middle order wickets and working well with leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who snapped up four batsmen.

After Travis Dowlin (78) and Krishna Arjune (60) were dismissed, India 'A' were in with a real chance to grab the first-innings lead, but skipper and lower-order bat Neil McGarrell dashed those hopes. Making a sturdy 88 at number nine, McGarrell spurred Guyana past the India 'A' total, and even after his dismissal, the last-wicket pair added 50 runs to take Guyana to 375. For India 'A', Salvi finished with five for 58, while Mishra took four for 123.

The batting was much more solid for India 'A' in their second essay. Staving off chances of a collapse and thereby a defeat, openers Akash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir added 146 runs for the first wicket before the latter fell, having made 78.

Connor Williams and Hemang Badani continued the good work, giving support to a Chopra in fine fettle at the other end. Williams (61) and Chopra put on 134 for the second wicket, and yet another huge stand - of 122 - for the third wicket between Chopra and Badani (57 not out) ensued before Chopra was dismissed for a sterling 174.

The India 'A' innings, as well as the game, closed with the wicket of Chopra, as a result was clearly out of the question. Guyana used as many as nine bowlers in the India 'A' second innings, and the hosts took six points from the drawn encounter while the tourists took three.