In a complete reversal of fortunes India ‘A’ piled on the misery on West Indies ‘A’ and lead by a massive 286 runs at stumps on day three. The stars of the day were Pritvi Shaw and Ravikumar Samarth who struck brilliant tons to put their team on the top. While Shaw scored 188 from 169 balls, Samarth smashed 137 from 202 deliveries and powered India ‘A’ to 536/4. Starting the day on 159/0, India ‘A’ quickly wiped off the deficit and stamped their authority in the match. Though Mayank Agarwal departed early for 68, Shaw and Samarth combined well and strung a partnership of 158 runs to hand India ‘A’ the lead. After Shaw’s departure, Karun Nair continued the momentum and chipped-in with 77. For most part of the match, West Indies ‘A’ enjoyed a comfortable position in the match and looked like the clear winners. At one stage in the match they had a whopping 250-run lead too. But the Indians had other plans. Despite being bundled out for 133 in the first innings, India ‘A’ came out and batted positively in their second sojourn. Such was their domination that they went on to score runs in excess of five runs/over. The wrecker-in-chief Shaw, bludgeoned 28 fours and two sixes before falling 12 runs short of his maiden double ton. The West Indies ‘A’ bowlers didn’t do enough to tackle the likes of Shaw, Samarth and Nair. Even after dismissing Shaw, trouble did not end for the Caribbean side as the two Karnataka batsmen —Samarth and Nair — stitched a partnership of 166. The only batsman who missed out on scoring was Hanuma Vihari, who was out for 10 just before close of play. Brief scores: India A 133 & 536/4 (Prithvi Shaw 188, Ravikumar Samarth 137, Karun Nair 77; Sherman Lewis 2-100) lead Windies A 383 by 286 runs.<doc-sep>Beckenham: A splendid batting performance from India A raised visions of victory before Windies A managed to hold on to a draw in the four-day 'Test' that concluded on Saturday. After a batting debacle in the first essay where they were shot out for 133, India's batsmen posted a massive 609 for six in 111 overs, riding on a splendid career-best 188 from Prithvi Shaw, a 137 by Ravikumar Samarth and an equally useful 93 by skipper Karun Nair. This was after trailing by 150 runs in the first innings. Needing 360 to win in 76 overs, Windies were never in contention, managing 245 for seven in the stipulated overs with Jermaine Blackwood scoring 61. Among the bowlers, Navdeep Saini put up a much improved performance in the second innings, ending with 2 for 41 in 14 overs. Spinners Shahbaz Nadeem and Jayant Yadav also chipped in with two wickets apiece. Windies were in trouble at 188 for six at one stage with more than 20 overs left. However, Raymon Reifer (11 no 74 balls) and Rahkeem Cornwall (40) defended for around 18 overs to save the Caribbeans from what would have been an embarrassing defeat. Earlier, India A started the final day at 536 for four with skipper Karun batting on 77. India A quickly added 73 runs in 11 overs but the skipper missed out on a three-figure mark as he was dismissed for 93. He faced 154 balls and hit 11 boundaries. It was keeper Kona Bharat, who hit a quickfire 33 off 25 balls to take India past the 600-run mark before they declared their second innings. Brief Scores: India A 133 and 609/6 decl (Prithvi Shaw 188, Ravikumar Samarth 137, Karun Nair 93) Windies A 383 & (target 360) 245/7 in 76 overs (Jermaine Blackwood 61, Rahkeem Cornwall 40, Navdeep Saini 2/41, Shahbaz Nadeem 2/81, Jayant Yadav 2/73).<doc-sep>Sunil Ambris . (Getty Images) BECKENHAM (England): Sunil Ambris struck a fine hundred while Shamarh Brooks made a gritty 91 to steer the West Indies A to 383 and earn a 250-run first innings lead against India A on day two of the first unofficial Test. India A, after a forgettable day with the bat on Thursday when they were bundled out for 133, had the West Indies A at an uncomfortable 82 for three in the 24th over. However, a solid 152-run stand for the fourth wicket between Brooks and Ambris took the game away from India A. Brooks' 177-ball effort comprised 16 fours and a six while Ambris hit 20 boundaries in his 165-ball knock. While Brook was amongst the runs in the preceding one-day tri-series, Ambris endured a lean patch. When India A were finally able to dismiss the settled duo, Raymon Reifer frustrated them with a 52 off 100 balls, taking his team well beyond 350. Ankit Rajpoot was the pick of the bowlers for India, finishing with four wickets at an economy rate of 3. His new ball partner Navdeep Saini picked up a couple of wickets at 3.12. In the second innings, India A had made a racy start reaching 67 for no loss in 10 overs. Openers Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal , who both failed to score in the first innings, were batting on 41 and 25 respectively. At the time of writing, a minimum of 16 overs were left till stumps.<doc-sep>
India ‘A’ came tantalisingly close to pulling off a dramatic victory against West Indies ‘A’ on the final day of the unofficial Test at Beckenham on Saturday. After being set a target of 360, the Windies side offered stiff resistance late in the innings and ended with 245/7, thus denying a victory to the Indians. Having wiped off a 250-run deficit in the second innings and sitting pretty on 536/4, India ‘A’ added 73 quick runs on the last day before declaring at 609/6. While skipper Karun Nair fell seven runs short of a century, Srikar Bharat contributed with a 25-ball 33. With a mountain to climb, West Indies ‘A’ started the chase in the worst possible manner as Navdeep Saini removed opener Chandrapaul Hemraj for a duck. The Caribbean side suffered another blow after adding just 28 runs to the score when spinner Jayant Yadav struck in his first over to dismiss skipper Shamarh Brook. There was a brief partnership of 66 runs for the fourth wicket between Jermaine Blackwood and Sunil Ambris, with the former scoring a half-century (62). This time Shahbaz Nadeem came up with the goods and dismissed Blackwood to bring India ‘A’ closer to victory. Windies suffered twin blows in a space of six deliveries after this as Ambris and Devon Thomas made the long walk back to the pavilion. With the score reading 188/6, India needed just four wickets to win in 23 overs. But as has been the norm, this match witnessed another comeback, this time from Windies. Rahkeem Cornwall and Raymon Reifer combined and scored 48 runs for the seventh wicket. But more importantly, they had managed to see off as many as 18 overs. Nadeem rose to the occasion once again and removed Cornwall for 40. But Reifer and Jomel Warrican held their nerve and batted out the remaining 31 balls safely. Brief scores: India 'A' 133 (Hanuma Vihari 37; Sherman Lewis 4-35, Chemar Holder 4-57) & 609/6d (Prithvi Shaw 188, R Samarth 137; Sherman Lewis 4-130) drew with Windies 'A' 383 (Sunil Ambris 128, Shamarh Brooks 91; Ankit Rajpoot 4-76) & 245/7 (Jermaine Blackwood 61, John Campbell 44; Navdeep Saini 2-41)