Cheteshwar Pujara scored a brilliant hundred on the first day of the tour game against West Indies A, but worries continued for vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who is on a tricky wicket with regards to his place in Test XI. Rahane failed once again as he was dismissed for 1.
Rahane, who has been in wretched form for the past couple of years and also had a poor county stint with Hampshire, was out edging seamer all-rounder Jonathan Carter behind stumps to keeper-captain Jahmar Hamilton.
Rohit Sharma stepped up brilliantly as he scored 68, building a 132-run partnership with gritty Pujara after India were 53/3 following Rahane’s dismissal.
Pujara left the field after he crossed the three-figure mark, allowing Rishabh Pant to have crucial match-practice. The wicketkeeper looked comparatively composed, but couldn’t extend his innings as he was dismissed on 33 off 53 deliveries.
Hanuma Vihari (37*) and Ravindra Jadeja (1*) were on the crease when rain suspended the play for the day.
Earlier, KL Rahul looked fluent during his knock of 36 off 51 balls with five fours and a six but fellow opener Mayank Agarwal's (12) defence was breached within the first hour.
Rahul looked good for a big one before being holed out to Romario Shehperd off new ball bowler Keon Harding's bowling.
The talking point of Indian batting has been Rahane, who has gone without a hundred for the past two years. His last three-figure knock came against a below-par Sri Lanka side in August, 2017.
In the last 12 Test matches, he has crossed half-century mark only five times in 20 innings.
With Hanuma Vihari closing in on him and Shreyas Iyer waiting in the wings, it's a tense time for the Indian vice-captain.
Brief Scores:
India 1st Innings: 297/5 in 88.5 overs (Pujara 100 retired not out, Rohit 68, Vihari 37*, Rahul 36; Jonathan Carter 3/39 in 13.5 overs).
(With inputs from PTI)
