Day 2 close India 87 for 3 (Jaffer 43*) and 253 for 7 dec. (Mongia 87, Laxman 85) lead West Indies A 266 (Smith 69, Hinds 62, Agarkar 4 for 55) by 74 runs Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh took eight wickets between them on the second day of their tour match against West Indies A, and bowled them out for 266, in reply to India's first innings score of 253 for 7 declared. At stumps India were 87 for 3 in their second innings, a lead of 74.

Agarkar finished with 4 for 55 and Harbhajan took 4 for 79 as three West Indian batsmen got half-centuries, but none of them managed to covert their score into a big hundred. Devon Smith made 69, Ryan Hinds hit up 62 and the aptly named Dwayne Bravo smashed an entertaining 55.

Hinds and Bravo gave the crowd plenty of entertainment in a fifth-wicket stand of 117, with Bravo in a particularly aggressive mood. He had an engrossing battle with Harbhajan Singh, at one point pulling him for four and then going down on bended knee to sweep him for a massive six.

He reached his 50 by smashing Harbhajan to the off-side boundary and celebrated by whipping the next ball through the leg side for four. But Harbhajan had the last laugh, getting Bravo lbw while attempting to sweep.

Agarkar had made the early breakthroughs for India, getting opener Daren Ganga caught behind by Ajay Ratra for 4, and then getting Donovan Pagon out lbw for 0.

India got off to a bad start in their second innings, with SS Das, who had a horrid series in West Indies and must be wondering why he has to face West Indian bowlers even after coming to England, caught behind for a miserable first-ball duck. Sanjay Bangar and Ajay Ratra also did not last long, though Wasim Jaffer was unbeaten on 43 at the close, with Parthiv Patel for company.

India play a further first-class game against Hampshire before proceeding to London, where the first Test between India and England begins at Lord's on July 25.

Teams
India 1 SS Das, 2 Wasim Jaffer, 3 VVS Laxman (capt), 4 Dinesh Mongia, 5 Sanjay Bangar, 6 Ajay Ratra (wk), 7 Mohammad Kaif, 8 Parthiv Patel, 9 Ajit Agarkar, 10 Harbhajan Singh, 11 Tinu Yohannan.

West Indies A 1 Daren Ganga (capt), 2 Devon Smith Chris Gayle, 3 Donovan Pagon, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Ryan Hinds, 6 Dwayne Bravo, 7 Chris Gayle, 8 Keith Hibbert (wk), 9 Jermaine Lawson, 10 Marlon Black, 11 Reon King.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd