India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane got much-needed runs under his belt ahead of the first Test as the visitors reached 174/5 at lunch on the final day of the warm-up game against the West Indies A.

Rahane, who has not scored a hundred in more than two years, made a fighting 54 off 162 balls before a reverse-sweep led to his dismissal. Rahane, who is the stand-in captain in this game, had come to open the innings after failing in the first essay.

The Mumbai batsman had looked horribly out of touch during his 35 overs at the crease on Day 2. His unbeaten 20 on Sunday had three boundaries but he played more than 80 dot balls, a testimony to his struggles. Rahane and Hanuma Vihari had resumed the innings at 84/1 and both batsmen managed to score half-centuries. Vihari, who was on 48 overnight, went on to make 64 off 125 balls in an innings comprising nine fours and a six with the Indians extending their lead to 279 runs.

Off-spinner Akim Frazer removed both Rahane and Vihari while Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were the other batsmen to be dismissed. Wriddhiman Saha (6) and R Aswhin (5) were in the middle when lunch was called. On Day 2, Ishant Sharma bowled a fiery opening spell while left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav promised to pose stiff competition for Ashwin as the Indians dominated proceedings.