BENGALURU, India – Jonathan Carter turned in a top-class allround performance, stroking a match-winning century and grabbing two wickets as West Indies A hit back with a superb win over India A in the second 50-over match on Tuesday.
He hit 133 off 132 balls and returned to pick up 2-33, to propel Windies A to a 55-run triumph at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium and level the three-match series 1-1. The decider will be played on Thursday at the same venue.
In his first innings of the tour, the stylish left-hander made an immediate impact, to pilot the visitors to 277-6 off 50 overs. When India A batted, Carter took the first and last wickets of the innings with his lively right-arm medium pace, as the hosts were bowled out for 224 off 48.4 overs.
Fast bowler Miguel Cummins was again impressive with the new ball returning figures of 10-0-31-4. Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller took two wickets with consecutive deliveries to end with 2-46.
Speaking after the match Carter said he was pleased with his allround effort, and also praised the bowlers for their hard work on what was a good batting surface.
"At first when I went to the crease the Indian bowlers were getting it (the ball) to seam a lot and it was difficult to get going. The bowlers were bowling in good areas and it was hard to score. I knew I had to be patient and look to get it. It was my first knock on tour and I wanted to make it count," Carter said.
"The pitch had a lot of moisture and was ‘spongy’ so I really had to apply myself and spend time at the crease. In the end it worked out and I was able to relax a bit more at the crease. Then, the spinners came on I was relaxed and rotated the strike."
Carter’s half-century came off 82 balls and he reached triple-figures off 117 balls with 13 boundaries and two sixes. During the course of the knock, he shared two major partnerships — 79 for the third wicket with Kirk Edwards (36) and 131 for the fifth wicket with Leon Johnson (39).
"I was patient and waited ‘til I got a couple bad balls. After I got in I decided I could take charge. Batting with Kirk…I like to bat with him…he gives you a lot of feedback, [he is] always alert and looking for singles and rotates the strike. Johnson played really well. He is full of confidence and always brings a positive outlook to the game. He came in and played really well and helped to take some of the pressure of me," Carter added.
"When we batted there was a lot of cloud – it was overcast for a long time. Things got better for the team batting second so as a bowling unit we knew we had to be very good. I have to say ‘very well done’ to our bowlers from the start to the finish – we knew we had to take all the wickets to win the match. I got the first and the last wickets of the innings and that was pleasing."
Carter said the team was boosted by the series-levelling victory and will look to clinch the series when they play the final match on Thursday. First ball is 11:30 pm Wednesday Eastern Caribbean Time/10:30 pm Jamaica time.