India v West Indies - Tour Match

Board President's XI v West Indians
Green Park, Kanpur
4 Day Game
Umpires: RB Gupta & MV Gothoskar
Toss: West Indians

BPXI: K Srikkanth, ML Jaisimha, *AL Wadekar, DN Sardesai, VL Manjrekar, SM Patil, SA Durani, RG Nadkarni, C Sharma, +NS Tamhane, BKV Prasad.
WI: CG Greenidge, DL Haynes, GA Headley, RB Kanhai, IVA Richards, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, MA Holding, LR Gibbs, CA Walsh.

A slow, lifeless pitch in Kanpur just about consigned this tour game to a draw before a ball was even bowled, but there was opportunity enough for a number of the touring party to find some form before the first Test in Kolkata.

The West Indians' first innings was dominated by a stand of 135 for the sixth wicket between Sobers and Dujon, both batsmen showing the patience necessary to score runs on this type of wicket, patience that was noticeably lacking in the top part of the order. Prasad bowled well to claim the first three wickets, and whilst Nadkarni and Durani both bowled long, economical spells, Sobers and Dujon were content to push ones and twos to keep the scoreboard moving, recording a worthy century and fifty respectively.

The Board President's XI began their first innings on the second afternoon, with skipper Wadekar's four hour 57 anchoring the first half of proceedings before Patil and Sharma added a relatively breezy 87 for the eighth wicket as the hosts finished just nine runs short of the West Indians' total. Only Walsh failed to take a wicket as the tourists' attack received a good work out, but he was then able to put his feet up and watch Gordon Greenidge construct the innings of the match as his team got some further batting practice on the final day.

Greenidge slammed 96 off 152 balls, no mean feat on this pitch, and he was eventually out attempting to raise his hundred with what would have been his fourth six, Jaisimha taking the catch on the midwicket boundary off Nadkarni. Sobers declared at this point, setting the home side an unlikely target of 173 off 23 overs, and understandably the game petered out into the expected draw over the course of the final hour or so. The only real worry in the tourists' camp ahead of the first Test is over Clive Lloyd, who missed this match with a groin strain, and there is every possibility that the XI on display here will be the same XI that take the field for the first Test.

Scores
WI 1st Inns 311 (Sobers 121, Dujon 59; Nadkarni 4-59)
BPXI 1st Inns 302 (Patil 69, Wadekar 57, Srikkanth 50)
WI 2nd Inns 163-5 dec. (Greenidge 96)
BPXI 2nd Inns 63-3

MATCH DRAWN