India ‘A' dominated as its bowlers' disciplined performance reduced West Indies ‘A' to 212 for eight on the opening day of the four-day unofficial second cricket ‘Test' here.
Medium-pacers Ashok Dinda, Shami Ahmed and Rohit Sharma picked up two wickets apiece as India ‘A', leading the three-match series 1-0, once again exposed the brittleness of the host batting line-up.
Dinda led the visitors' attack to finish with two for 22, while Rohit picked up two for 31 and Ahmed, two for 43.
The batsmen who made noteworthy contributions in the day, on which the host scored at less than three an over, were opener Kraigg Brathwaite (66 batting) and Veerasammy Permaul (36).
West Indies ‘A' elected to bat but the decision soon boomeranged as the visiting bowlers began to strike at will.
The first blow to the Windies line-up came pretty early in the game when opener Justin Gullien (5) was caught by Manoj Tiwary off an Ahmed delivery.
The failure to forge strong partnerships hurt the Caribbeans badly and the third wicket stand of 48 between Brathwaite and Nkrumah Bonner (25) and the eighth wicket stand of 47 between Permaul and Brathwaite again were the only steady phases of the innings. Brathwaite remained unaffected by the collapse around him and struck seven fours and played 292 deliveries.
The scores: West Indies ‘A' 212 for eight in 90 overs (Brathwaite 66 batting, Bonner 25, Permaul 36) vs. India ‘A'.
