GRACE ROAD, England, CMC – Teenaged left-arm seamer Jaidev Unadkat snatched a seven-wicket haul to wreck West Indies A’s batting before Ajinkya Rahane and Abhinav Mukund scored half-centuries to put India A in charge of the first four-day “Test” yesterday.
Playing on the second day after rain forced the opening day on Thursday to be abandoned, Unadkat picked up seven for 41 on his first class debut to send the Caribbean side tumbling for a disappointing 144.
In reply, Rahane carved out an unbeaten 66 while opener Mukund hammered a patient 54 as India A cruised to 183 for two, already a lead of 39 runs.
Sent in at the County Ground, West Indies quickly capitulated to 26 for three as the 18-year-old Unadkat tore through the top order prising out captain Devon Smith (5), Omar Phillips (6) and Kraigg Brathwaite (13) in quick time.
Windies A then required Imran Khan’s busy 28, David Bernard’s entertaining 22 and Andre Fletcher’s obdurate 20, to get up to their eventual score.
Fast bowler Dhawal Kulkarni chipped in with two for 41 to provide support for Unadkat, who spearheaded India’s attack at the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.
Facing embarrassment after Unadkat’s opening burst, West Indies A got a 37-run, fourth wicket stand between Fletcher and Kirk Edwards (1) before both fell with the score on 63 to leave the score on 63 for five.
Without addition to the score, Chadwick Walton was then bowled by Unadkat for a first ball “duck” as the Windies limped to lunch six wickets down.
They were saved by a precious 50-run, seventh wicket stand between Khan and Bernard, which denied India A any immediate success after the break.
Khan smacked four fours off just 28 balls while Bernard counted a similar number of boundaries in his 25-ball knock.
Again, both fell with the score on 113 and Andre Russell (19) was left to help garner 28 for the last wicket with Gavin Tonge (9 not out), to eke out valuable runs at the end.
India stamped their authority on the game, racing to 48 without loss at tea, with Mukund dominating the opening stand with Shikhar Unadkat who scored 17.
The partnership was broken on resumption without any runs added but was one of two productive efforts involving Mukund as he also posted 82 with Rahane for the second wicket.
A solid 20-year-old left-hander, Mukund faced 119 balls in 163 minutes at the crease and struck eight fours while Rahane has so far hit nine fours in an innings spanning 106 balls and 154 minutes.
When Mukund was trapped lbw by Khan at 130 for two, India A kept the pressure on as Cheteshwar Pujara struck five fours in a lively, unbeaten 34 from 37 balls in adding another 53 for the third wicket with Rahane.
