BP XI vs Windies, Warm-up Match, Day 1, Review: Ankit Bawne and Mayank Agarwal keep visitors at bay

Windies began their India tour on a relatively sour note. Their captain Jason Holder lost the toss on a good pitch in Vadodara and they had to chase the leather whole day. Ankit Bawne slammed a brilliant century and continued his great form with the bat while Mayank Agarwal has done no harm to his national selection with a 90-run knock at the top of the order.

The opening duo of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal, one of whom will possibly make his international debut next week against the same opposition, couldn’t give the team a good start. Shaw was dismissed only in the third over by Shannon Gabriel. He could only muster eight runs while his partner didn’t perturb and continued playing his strokes. However, even Hanuma Vihari was sent back soon to leave the team at 40/2.

Then came the partnership between Karun Nair and Agarwal which steadied the ship for the home side. The latter looked in great touch as he batted with authority and made no fuss about facing an international bowling attack. He has all but sealed his place in the Indian squad now with a brilliant 90 off just 111 balls. Though the right-hander was unlucky not to bring up his century.

Bawne takes control

At 145/4, things looked bleak but Ankit Bawne joined hands with Shreyas Iyer and plundered runs at will. They added 113 runs for the fifth wicket to leave the opponents frustrated. Devendra Bishoo was targetted especially as he went for almost five runs an over throughout the day. Though Iyer’s impressive stint at the crease was cut short by the same bowler for 61 runs.

Bawne kept on playing strongly and brought up his yet another ton. He remained unbeaten on 116 off 191 deliveries at the end of the day as Board Presidents XI declared at 360 runs for the loss of six wickets. Windies bowlers toiled hard but only Sherman Lewis could keep a lid on the run-scoring on the opposition. All the eyes will now be on their batsmen who’ve struggled to compete in India over the years.

Brief Scores

BP XI 360/6decl after 90 overs (A Bawne 116*, M Agarwal 90, S Iyer 61; D Bishoo 3/104, S Gabriel 2/41)

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.