Shiv Sunder Das played a captain's knock and scored a fine century to place India 'A' in a strong position on the opening day of the four-day game against Durham county side at the Riverside Stadium in Chester-le-Street on Friday.

Das, seeking to make a comeback to the national squad after being left out for more than a year, hit a beautifuly compiled 125 as India 'A' finished the day at a comfortable 275 for three after 91 overs.

Having been put in to bat by Durham, Das put on 122 runs for the opening wicket with Wasim Jaffer and then 80 runs for the second with Gautam Gambhir, both of whom have represented the senior national team in the past.

Jaffer scored 43 runs while Gambhir contributed 35.

At stumps, Hemang Badani, another player trying to make a comeback to the senior team, was batting on 43 in the company of wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, who was not out on 21.

For the hosts, Ian Hunter claimed two wickets while Nicholas Hatch took the third.

However, it was Das's day at the Riverside stadium today. The diminutive opener smashed 15 fours and a six in his 200-ball knock spanning just over four hours. Das, who had hit a double hundred in tour match when he had come with the senior team to England last year, batted with a lot of authority and looked intent on proving a point.

The others Indians on show also put up reasonably good performances. While Jaffer's 150-minute innings was studded with five fours and a six, Gambhir struck three boundaries in his 75-minute knock.

Scorecard:

India 'A'
S S Das c Wells b Hunter 125
W Jaffer c Lewis b Hunter 43
G Gambhir c Mustard b Hatch 35
H Badani not out 43
P Patel not out 21
Extras (b-1, lb-5, nb-2) 8

Total (for 3 wkts, 91 overs) 275

Fall of wickets: 1-122, 2-202, 3-212.

Bowling:
Nicholas Hatch 21-4-48-1,
Ian Hunter 17-2-51-2,
Anthony Davies 19-4-66-0,
Gordon Muchall 9-1-33-0,
Vincent Wells 8-1-14-0,
Nick Phillips 14-0-57-0.