Carter’s 133,Cummins’s 4/31 help West Indies A beat India A by 55 runs

Despite having put up a decent score on the board after batting first,the visitors would still not have been too confident of defending it. Till the time Yuvraj and Yusuf were still at the crease of course. On Sunday,the duo had faced 55 balls as a combination and bludgeoned 125 runs off them.

Here left-arm spinner Nikita Miller sent them packing off back-to-back deliveries. Both of which were as innocuous as they were harmless. Two pitched up deliveries,the first getting Yuvraj caught by West Indies A skipper Kieran Powell at extra-cover and the next having Yusuf caught by the lone slip fielder.

In no time,Miller had eliminated the two forces of destruction that had sent the West Indians packing the other evening. The seasoned Jamaican spinner had reduced India A to 114 for 5,still a fair distance away from their target of 280. The hosts never quite recovered and were soon bowled out for 224 as West Indies A clawed their way back into the three-match series by leveling it in style at Bangalore,the victory-margin of 55 runs quite indicative of their overall dominance over the contest.

Though Miller might have walked away with the honour of having caught the two big fish of the opposition in his trap,the real heroes for the men from the Caribbean were two unheralded young men from Barbados.

Miguel Cummins and Jonathan Carter might not stand out as eye-catching names in an West Indies A squad that otherwise is studded with players who have represented the senior team at international level,some with more distinction than others.

But the last 12 months or so have been a kind of watershed for both Bajans. More importantly,both had played crucial roles in winning Barbados their first regional four-day title in over seven years earlier in the season.

Carter has been among the top run-getters in first-class cricket for his country and in the Caribbean over the last two seasons. But he had never scored a List A century. And the aggressive left-hander not only set that record straight,the 25-year-old also ended up saving the day for his team in style.

Slow start

The West Indians had started on a slow note after having lost their openers to Vinay Kumar’s swing with the new-ball. The experienced Kirk Edwards had then perished to Yusuf’s off-spin after having batted himself in.

Carter commenced upon rescuing the innings on a sedate note,and took 82 balls to reach his half-century. Then he cut loose.

He got stuck into the likes of Vinay Kumar and Jaydev Unadkat,and smashed 83 runs off the next 50 balls he faced,including 11 fours and three big sixes. Eventually he was out for 133 by which time Carter had played the crucial role in the West Indians reaching a sizable 279/6.

Then began the Cummins show. The right-arm seamer has tended to make a great first impression in his still nascent cricket career so far.

Earlier in the year,he snared 35 wickets at 14.77 apiecenine in the finalfor Barbados in his first full first-class season,where he earned rave review from experts around the Caribbean along with a spot in the West Indies A squad.

He also displayed a knack of taking wickets. Like he did here. While it was Carter who drew first blood by getting Robin Uthappa,Cummins was into his own thereafter.

He got rid of Mandeep Singh caught behind before returning at a crucial stage to have a well-set Kedar Jadhav caught-behind. Cummins,who eventually finished with figures of 4/31,then also bowled Naman Ojha after the wicket-keeper had shown glimpses of resistance to crush India A hopes for good.

Brief scores: West Indies A 279 for 6 in 50 ovs (J Carter 133,LR Johnson 39; V Kumar 3/56) bt India A 224 all out in 48.4 ovs (Y Singh 40,U Chand 38; M Cummins 4/31)