India A vs West Indies A: Khaleel Ahmed, Axar Patel's efforts go in vain as hosts register first win of series in 4th 'ODI'

Antigua: West Indies A registered their first win of the five-match unofficial ODI series on Friday as they defeated India A by five runs. Chasing 299, Indian team got off to a steady start as openers Anmolpreet Singh and Ruturaj Gaikwad provided a 32-run stand, but their resistance was cut short by Sherfane Rutherford’s brilliance in the field as he dismissed Singh (11). [caption id=“attachment_5515411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Khaleel Ahmed. AFP[/caption] The Indian team kept on losing wickets in the middle and they were not able to stitch a solid partnership as the Indian side got reduced to 127/5 in the 26th over. Axar Patel held the fort for the India side as he mixed caution and aggression and he went on to stay unbeaten at 81. Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar then took the honours upon themselves and they tried to rescue India. Both the players went on to play knocks of 45, but as soon as they got sent to the pavilion, India’s hopes of a win were dashed and the team lost the match by five runs. Earlier, India had won the toss and they opted to bowl first. Roston Chase’s knock of 84 runs enabled West Indies to post the score of 298/9 in the allotted fifty overs. Devon Thomas, Chase, and Jonathon Carter went on to register scores of fifty-plus to consolidate the Carribean side’s batting performance. Khaleel Ahmed scalped four wickets for India, but in the end, Romario Shephard scored 21 runs off just 8 balls to propel West Indies over the 295-run mark. Both teams will now face each other in the fifth and final ODI on 21 July with India holding an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series. Brief Scores: West Indies A 298/9 (Roston Chase 84, Devon Thomas 70, Khaleel Ahmed 4-67) beat India A 293/9 (Axar Patel 81*, Washington Sundar 45, Roman Powell 2-47) by five runs.