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St. Kitts: A rewarding opening session on Day Two helped the Indians get into the Test groove with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli posting half centuries.
After restricting WICB President’s XI to 180 all out on the first day, the visitors batted steadily to take the first innings lead.
Resuming on overnight score of 93 for three, Rahul and Kohli went along well. The former, batting at No. 3, made 64 before he was retired out. Rahul to an extent struggled to rotate the strike, but made up for that with nine fours and a six.
It would be interesting to see if this knock brightens his chance to get into the playing XI as the first Test begins in Antigua next Thursday. The young Karnataka batsman has started the tour on a positive note with two half-tons on the bounce.
He opened the innings in the first match and negotiated the new ball well. Here he came at one drop because India went back to their regular opening combination — Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan.
The tourists, however, would be happier to see their skipper strike a good rhythm ahead of serious business. Kohli had made 14 in the first practice fixture at Warner Park in Basseterre.
Today, at the same venue, he made 51 off 94 balls before being out leg before to off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall. Kohli’s knock had only four boundaries but a strike-rate of 54.25 had been achieved through sharp singles and twos. Kohli and Rahul put on 88 runs for the fifth wicket to allow their team edge past the hosts.
Wriddhiman Saha getting a decent batting opportunity was another positive for the Indians. Saha needs to bat well in Tests if Kohli sticks to his six-five combination. The Bengal cricketer had wasted a start in the first game, but he looked pretty composed.
Ajinkya Rahane scored 32 with five fours, which should help him in his preparation for the upcoming Tests. As far as bowling is concerned, the spinners have been impressive.
R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets apiece yesterday with the latter being very miserly (3/16). Leg-spinner Amit Mishra bagged a couple. He had a very good first game as well, returning with 4/67.
Brief scores
WICB President's XI - 180 and 26 for 1
Indians - 364 (Rahul 64, Jadeja 56, Kohli 51, Cornwall 5-118)
Status - WICB President's XI trial by 158 runs
