ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC – A precious, unbroken 35-run ninth wicket stand between captain Veerasammy Permaul and tail-ender Nikita Miller pulled West Indies A out of a hole and fired them to a tense two-wicket win over India A in the first one-dayer here yesterday.
Chasing a meagre 191 for victory at the National Stadium, West Indies were languishing at 158 for eight before Permaul and Miller combined to steer the hosts to 193 without further loss, with three balls remaining in the innings.
Permaul, voted Man-of-the-Match after his earlier four-wicket haul, finished on 22 not out while Miller chipped in with 12, to secure West Indies A an important 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Earlier, India A were bowled out for 190 off the last ball of the innings, after winning the toss and batting.
Ajinkya Rahane top-scored with 58 while opening partner Shikhar Dhawan got 30 and Indian Premier League star Manoj Tiwary, 26.
Permaul earned four for 28 with his steady left-arm spin while seamers Jason Holder (2-30) and Jonathan Carter (2-41) finished with two wickets apiece.
West Indies A lost Test opener Adrian Barath for five early in the run chase at 26 for one and fellow Test opener Kieran Powell followed at 42 for two after hammering a brisk 25 off 24 balls with three fours.
Out-of-form Test batsman Kirk Edwards then stroked 33 off 44 balls with two fours and a six to add 29 for the third wicket with Nkrumah Bonner (14).
When Bonner perished at 71 for three, Edwards combined with top-scorer Jonathan Carter (39) to put on another 27.
Edwards departed with the score on 98, paving the way for a 54-run, fifth wicket stand between left-handers Carter and Assad Fudadin.
Carter faced 75 balls and hit two fours while Fudadin, who made his Test debut on the tour of England, scored 26 from 44 balls.
Both fell in a slide that saw four wickets tumble for six runs before Permaul blasted a four and a six off 13 balls to see his side home.
Fast bowler Ashok Dinda finished with three for 35 while 21-year-old seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-14) and off-spinner Rohit Sharma (2-32) claimed two wickets apiece.
SCOREBOARD
INDIA A
S Dhawan c Johnson b Carter 30
A Rahane st Dowrich b Miller 58
*C Pujara c Edwards b Carter 9
RG Sharma c Johnson b Permaul 16
M Tiwary st Dowrich b Permaul 26
+W Saha c Barath b Permaul 11
J Saxena c Edwards b Holder 22
B Kumar c Fudadin b Permaul 9
S Ahmed run out 2
RA Sharma b Holder 2
A Dinda not out 0
Extras (lb1, w3, nb1) 5
TOTAL (all out, 50 overs) 190
Fall of wickets: 1-49, 2-63, 3-103, 4-125, 5-144, 6-166, 7-185, 8-188, 9-190, 10-190.
Bowling: Johnson 9-2-41-0, Holder 10-1-30-2, Carter 10-1-41-2, Fudadin 3-0-20-0, Miller 10-0-25-1, Permaul 8-2-33-4.
WEST INDIES A
A Barath c Ahmed b Kumar 5
K Powell c wkp Saha b Kumar 25
K Edwards c Ahmed b RG Sharma 33
N Bonner c and b RA Sharma 14
J Carter lbw b RG Sharma 39
A Fudadin c wkp Saha b Dinda 26
+S Dowrich c Rahane b Dinda 4
J Holder c wkp Saha b Dinda 0
*V Permaul not out 22
N Miller not out 12
Extras (lb5, w7, nb1) 13
TOTAL (8 wkts, 49.3 overs) 193
Did not bat: D Johnson.
Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-42, 3-71, 4-98, 5-152, 6-156, 7-157, 8-158.
Bowling: Dinda 9-0-45-3, Kumar 7-2-14-2, Ahmed 7-1-26-0, RA Sharma 6.3-0-37-1, Saxena 10-1-34-0, RG Sharma 10-1-32-2.
Result: West Indies A won by two wickets.
Series: West Indies A lead three-match series 1-0.
Man-of-the-Match: Veerasammy Permaul.
Umpires: L Abraham, G Greaves.
