Carter stars as West Indies 'A' even series with 55-run win over India 'A'

Bangalore: Powered by Jonathan Carter’s brilliant all-round show, West Indies A comfortably defeated India A by 55 runs in the second unofficial ‘ODI’ at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here today. The 25-year-old left-hand batsman Carter smashed his way to a breathtaking 133 off 132 balls to help West Indies reach a fighting total of 279 for six. In reply, India were all out for 224 in 48.4 overs with Carter grabbing two for 33 in 6.4 overs with his right-arm seam-up stuff. [caption id=“attachment_1115335” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Yuvraj Singh could not reproduce his form from the first game. AFP[/caption] The most successful Caribbean bowler was pacer Miguel Cummins who had impressive figures of 4/31 in 10 overs to show for his efforts. Carter got the first and last wickets of the Indian innings in Robin Uthappa and Jaydev Unadkat. The Indian batsmen failed to fire collectively as there wasn’t a single half-century in the innings. Skipper Yuvraj Singh again top-scored with 40 (58 balls, 3x4, 1x6) but once he was dismissed by left-arm spinner Nikita Miller in the 28th over, the writing was on the wall. The India A captain loosely lobbed a catch to his counterpart Kieran Powell standing in covers. The dangerous Yusuf Pathan (0) was out off the very next delivery from Miller edging one to Ashley Nurse at first slip. With half the team back in the pavilion with only 114 on the board, India A never recovered from the twin setbacks. Unmukt Chand (38), Kedar Jadhav (35) and Naman Ojha (34) all got starts but couldn’t convert it into a match-winning effort. While Uthappa (10) dragged a Carter delivery back to the stumps, Mandeep Singh (3), who played well in the last game was caught behind playing away from his body. Chand struggled during the better part of his innings before being holed out in the deep after playing a rash shot of off-spinner Ashley Nurse’s bowling. Yuvraj and Chand had added 64 runs for the third wicket and that was the only time that India A innings looked to have gained some momentum before they frittered it away. Yuvraj again looked comfortable against both spin and pace till the time he was at the wicket. Earlier, Indian bowlers found the going tough after a good start as Carter smashed his way to a remarkable ton to take West Indies A to 279 for six in 50 overs. The 25-year-old Carter dominated the West Indies innings by smashing the Indian attack to all corners of the ground, scoring an impressive 133 off 132 balls. He took his time in establishing control on a pitch that offered good bounce for the bowlers but was productive for batsmen who were willing to be patient. Carter plundered 18 fours and two sixes in a fine display. His hundred came after he had been dropped on six by Yusuf Pathan. During the course of the knock, he shared a couple of fruitful partnerships – 79 for the third wicket with Kirk Edwards (36) and 131 runs for the fifth wicket with Leon Johnson (39). Carter attacked the Indian bowlers relentlessly and the West Indies reached their 200 in 43rd over. Medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat finally dismissed him as he trapped him LBW. Choosing to bowl first, Indian seamer Vinay Kumar struck twice early on, dismissing openers Andre Fletcher (15) and captain Kieran Powell (4) to leave the visitors 21 for two in 8.4 overs. PTI