Raymon Reifer's Five-For Puts Windies A on Top against India A

Riding on Raymon Reifer’s five-wicket haul, the Windies A took the upper hand against India A on the second day of the second unofficial Test in Taunton on Wednesday (July 11).

India A started the day on a good note. The Windies could add only one run to their overnight score of 301 before Mohammed Siraj sent back Oshane Thomas.

However, the positive start was not at all the precursor of the things that were to follow throughout the day. India A were folded up for just 192 with Reifer and Oshane Thomas sharing eight wickets between them.

India A could not build a single big stand and as a result never looked in contention of getting close to their opponent’s total. R Samarth and Abhimanyu Easwaran started well, adding 36 runs for the first wicket. However, they soon found themselves reeling at 48 for three.

Skipper Karun Nair and Ankit Bawne then steadied the ship, taking the score past the 100-run mark. The duo added 66 runs before Reifer sent back Nair for 42. Nair’s dismissal once again opened the floodgates, as India A lost wickets in clusters. As a result, Bawne found little support from the other end. The likes of  Rishabh Pant and Jayant Yadav failed to get going, as India A got reduced to 149 for nine.

Vijay Shankar, batting at No. 11, then scored a quick 30 off 17 in the end to guide the team to a respectable total. Bawne stayed unbeaten on 43 off 92 while Thomas, who sent back Vijay, ended with figures of three for 66.

With a big 107-run lead, Windies made a steady start to their second essay. John Campbell and Devon Thomas scored 51 for the opening wicket before Rajneesh Gurbani had the latter caught behind. Jermaine Blackwood and Campbell then took the team to 96 for one before the day ended.

Brief scores:

Windies A – 302 & 96/1 (John Campbell 43*) lead India A 192 (Ankit Bawne 43*; Raymon Reifer 5-50, Oshane Thomas 3-66) by 206 runs.