India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari scored half-centuries before West Indies A held on to a draw on the final day of the three-day warm-up game at Coolidge on Monday.
India declared at 188/5, setting the opposition a target of 305 runs to chase before the hosts batted out for 21 overs to finish the match at 47/3.
Rahane, who has not scored a hundred in more than two years, made a fighting 54 off 162 balls before a reverse sweep led to his dismissal. Rahane, who is the stand-in captain in this game, had come to open the innings after failing in the first innings.
The Mumbai batsman had looked horribly out of touch during his 35 overs at the crease on day two. His 20 not out on Sunday had three boundaries but he played more than 80 dot balls, a testimony to his struggles.
Rahane and Hanuma Vihari had resumed the innings at 84 for one and both batsmen managed to score half-centuries. Vihari, who was on 48 overnight, went on to make 64 off 125 balls in an innings comprising nine fours and a six with India extending their lead to 279 runs.
Off-spinner Akim Frazer removed both Rahane and Vihari while Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were the other batsmen to be dismissed. Wriddhiman Saha (14) and Ravichandran Ashwin (10) were in the middle when the visitors declared their innings.
In response, West Indies once again put a dismal show with the bat during the run chase. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah dismissed opener Kavem Hodge early on before spinner Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja removed Jeremy Solozano and Brandon King respectively.
India will now face West Indies in the two-match Test series starting on August 22nd, which will also be the first World Test Championship match for both sides.
Brief Scores: India 297/5 (Cheteshwar Pujara 100, Rohit Sharma 68; Jonathan Carter 3-39) & 188/5 (Hanuma Vihari 64; Akim Frazer 2-43) drew with West Indies A 187 (Kavem Hodge 51; Umesh Yadav 3-19) & 47/3 (Jeremy Solozano 16; Ravindra Jadeja 1-3)
(with PTI inputs)
