Indian seamers fire blanks on Day 2 of warm-up match, Amit Mishra saves blushes
India were frustrated by two long partnerships on the second and final day of their practice match against West Indies Cricket Board President’s XI at Warner Park on Sunday, which ended in a draw with the home side at 281/7, ahead of India’s first innings score by 23 runs. India had declared their innings overnight at 258/6, Rohit Sharma remaining unbeaten on 54.
There had been intermittent showers overnight, and the lingering cloud cover gave a lot of assistance to the new ball bowlers. Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar started the day threateningly, Kumar following the ploy of bowling regular inswingers and threw in the occasional outswinger. Skipper Leon Johnson was victim to one such outswinger, giving a catch to second slip. Shami concentrated more on pace and bowled a shorter length just outside off stump.
Rajen Chandrika and Shai Hope then stitched together a long 122-run stand, that extended till the middle of the second session. With the duo providing a staunch defence, the seamers began to lose their line and length. Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav replaced Kumar and Shami, but even they were unable to break through the defence. Their spells were typified by sudden breathtaking balls followed by loosening half-volleys.
Amit Mishra was brought on to replace Ishant for a short spell before lunch, and it was immediately clear where India’s best hopes of wickets lay. Both Hope and Chandrika played Mishra tentatively, surviving close calls once each.
Mishra and Bhuvneshwar had been the two most impressive bowlers in the first session, and it was them who started the second. Hope and Chandrika remained defiant till the 48th over, till Chandrika was stumped off Mishra for 69. The very next ball produced a catch for Wriddhiman Saha off Jermaine Blackwood’s bat. Roston Chase saw off the hat-trick ball, but perished in the very next over to Shami. Yadav trapped Shane Dowrich lbw, as 4 wickets were taken for 29 runs.
Mishra took two more wickets, mistimed shots landing in fielders’ hands. With their opponents downt at 177/7 and almost a full session to go, India might have thought they would be called upon to bat again. However, Jomel Warrican came to the President’s XI’s rescue, staying with the defiant Shai Hope till the end of the day’s play. Hope remained unbeaten on 118, the highest score of the match, Warrican reached his half-century just before the players shook hands.
Brief scores: India 258/6 decl. (Rohit Sharma 54*, Shikhar Dhawan 51, KL Rahul 50; Jomel Warrican 2-61) vs West Indies Cricket Board President's XI 281/7 (Shai Hope 118*, Rajendra Chandrika 69, Jomel Warrican 50*; Amit Mishra 4-67) - Match drawn.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 13-5-29-1
Mohammed Shami – 17-2-62-1
Umesh Yadav – 17-3-66-1
Ishant Sharma – 13-2-48-0
Amit Mishra – 27-5-67-4