Rohit 94 gives India A slender lead

West Indies A 3 for 0 and 252 (Permaul 66, Ahmed 3-43) trail India A 277 (Rohit Sharma 94, Saha 56, Carter 5-63) by 22 runs
Scorecard

A five-wicket haul by Jonathan Carter restricted India A's lead to 25 on the second day of first unofficial Test in Barbados. Carter, a middle-order batsman who bowls lively medium pace, was well supported by left-arm fast bowler Delorn Johnson as India A's strong batting line-up failed to build upon decent contributions in the middle order.

After a fightback by the West Indies A lower order on the first day, their bowlers had a perfect start on the second morning as Johnson bowled Abhinav Mukund with the fifth ball of the first over. India were rocked by the run out of the in-form Ajinkya Rahane in the third over and then slipped to 21 for 3 as Shikhar Dhawan was caught behind playing a loose backfoot drive off Carter's first ball.

That brought the pair of other India Test hopefuls Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma together as they thwarted West Indies' bowlers in a 97-run partnership. Captain Pujara was out to a lifting Carter delivery after scoring a solid half-century, but Rohit continued playing attractive shots and was well supported by Manoj Tiwary, who scored 40, in an attacking half-century partnership.

Rohit looked well set for a century as he moved to the nineties with a six off Carter, but was out soon after to an inswinging delivery by Johnson. At 204 for six, India were in danger of falling short of West Indies' score, but Wriddhiman Saha's 56 helped India to a lead.

Just as the Indian batsmen failed to make a strong statement, West Indies' Devendra Bishoo, who is hoping for a Test comeback, struggled to make an impact while wickets fell to the faster bowlers.

West Indies openers played out six tricky overs before the end of play to set-up the match for an interesting third day.