NEW DELHI (Reuters)
India batsman Vangipurappu Laxman made a fine return from injury on Wednesday, stroking 148 to guide his team to victory in the season-opening Irani trophy.

Laxman scored 108 of his runs in boundaries to lift the Rest of India side to a six-wicket win over national champions Baroda on the fifth and final day of the match in the central city of Nagpur. His fluent performance should have impressed India's selectors, who are scheduled to meet shortly to pick the squad for next month's three-Test series in South Africa.

Laxman, who hit an Indian Test record score of 281 to help the team to an upset 2-1 home series win over Australia earlier this year, had been sidelined since July after suffering knee ligament damage during a one-day series in Sri Lanka.

The 26-year-old missed the Test series in Sri Lanka in August to undergo arthroscopy in Australia and also skipped the current one-day tri-series in South Africa.

Captaining the Rest of India side, Laxman dominated a 217-run fourth-wicket partnership with Test aspirant Dinesh Mongia to lift his team from 46 for 3 to a second-innings victory target of 273. The left-handed Mongia, 24, who has played in four one-day internationals, remained 90 not out after top-scoring with 125 in the first innings.

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