18 September,2013 12:57 AM IST | | IANS
A run-a-ball century by 25-year-old Barbadian Jonathan Carter (133, 132b, 18x4, 3x6) powered the West Indies âA' to a deserving 55-run win over a wayward India âA' to level the three-match one-day series 1-1 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here yesterday.
Asked to bat first, the visitors recovered from a poor start and with Carter playing the anchor-role to perfection, made 279-6 in their 50 overs. In reply, India âA', who had won the opening game on Sunday, paid the price for some indiscreet strokeplay to be all out for 224 with seamer Miguel Cummins claiming 4-29.
The India âA' response to the challenging target was rather disappointing though opener Unmukt Chand (38), skipper Yuvraj Singh (40) and Kedar Jadhav (35) provided some hope. However, Yuvraj's dismissal, when he drove left-arm spinner Nikita Miller uppishly to be caught in the covers, triggered the India âA' collapse.
India âA' skipper Yuvraj Singh summed up accurately when he pointed out that centurion Jonathan Carter's dropped catch when he was on six, besides poor batting.u00a0"We did not bowl well and Carter's dropped catch was also a factor. We should have restricted them to about 260.
No one in our batting line-up got going. We did not field well and if you want to win, you need to bowl well too," said Yuvraj at the post-match interaction with the media.
The skipper, on a comeback trail and who piloted his team to victory in the opening game Sunday with a century, admitted that the early loss of wickets put the team under pressure.u00a0"The two early wickets put us under pressure. They bowled in the right areas. We did not get good partnerships and they did not let us score.
The ball was moving a bit but we did not get enough wickets. If the guys do not get runs, we will not win. There should have been small partnerships and then we would have had a chance," Yuvraj added.u00a0West Indies âA' captain Kieran Powell attributed his team's success to Carter's century and also strengthening of the bowling department.
"Carter played a massive role in our win, particularly considering the situation we were in. It was expected of him and he delivered. We juggled the bowlers little bit and worked on the field settings and it worked out," said Powell. With the series tied at 1-1, the two teams face each other in the third and final game of the series on Thursday.u00a0