Hinds 50 gets Windies off to good start

Opener Wavell Hinds slammed a breezy half-century as West Indies reached 87 for one at lunch on the opening day of a three-day match against national champions Indian Railways on Thursday.

Left-hander Hinds cracked 11 fours in his 60-ball knock of 50 but fell edging off-spinner Kulamani Parida to slip, where Jacob Martin took a sharp catch.

Fellow-opener Chris Gayle was batting on a sedate 25, with just three boundaries, and Daren Ganga was on three.

This is the first appearance on the Indian tour for Ganga, drafted into the squad after leading batsman Brian Lara was ruled out due to hepatitis.

Stand-in captain Ridley Jacobs had won the toss and elected to bat first on a flat wicket which promises to offer some assistance to spinners.

West Indies, who have already lost the three-Test series 2-0, rested Carl Hooper, left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul and pace bowler Mervyn Dillon.

Hinds got the team off to a flying start punishing the Railways seamers, particularly Zakir Hussain, through the off-side for a flurry of boundaries.

But the scoring rate came down after Parida struck in his opening over beating Hinds in flight with a ball that drifted in and then left him after pitching.

The third Test will be played in Kolkata from October 30 to November 3.

Mail Cricket Editor