Pujara, Rahane power India A to important win

India A 340 for 6 (Pujara 114, Rahane 90, Dhawan 59) beat West Indies A 287 (Bravo 83, Mithun 3-49) by 53 runs
Scorecard

India A finally opened their account in the tri-series after two defeats with a comprehensive win against West Indies A at Grace Road. Cheteshwar Pujara led from the front yet again with an attacking century while Ajinkya Rahane smashed 90 to guide India to 340. The West Indians, save for Darren Bravo's 83, couldn't get enough big scores to mount that target and eventually fell 53 short in the high-scorer.

The India openers, Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund, put them on the path to a big score with a stand of 95 in quick time. Dhawan hit ten boundaries as he raced to a half-century but he couldn't convert his score as he fell in the 13th over to Andre Russell. Abhinav fell shortly after but from thereon, it was hard work for the West Indians as Rahane and Pujara added 151 for the third wicket. Gavin Tonge gave West Indies a long-awaited breakthrough when he bowled Rahane in the 41st over. Pujara reached his ton off just 83 balls and went on to score 114. All the West Indian seamers came in for punishment, with Russell and Lionel Baker taking two wickets apiece.

The West Indies A top order also started briskly but lost three by the 13th over, with Dhawal Kulkarni accounting for two of them. Bravo resisted with an attacking knock and took charge of two half-century stands, adding 61 with Asad Fudadin and 71 with Russell. But India tightened their grip on the game when Bravo departed in the 38th over, bowled by Abhimanyu Mithun. Bravo's 83 included eight fours and came off 108 balls. The lower order went on the attack but an Indian win was always inevitable.