NEW DELHI: India dished out a brilliant performance to register a comfortable six-wicket victory over Australia Prime Minister’s XI in a pink-ball warm up match at Manuka Oval in Canberra on Sunday.
After day one of the two-day match was washed out, the game was reduced to a 46-over-a-side contest. India, opting to field first, bowled out the PM XI for 240 in 43.2 overs.
The Rohit Sharma-led side then chased down the 241-run target in 42.5 overs, but what surprised everyone was that India continued batting until the very last over.
It is worth noting that even after chasing down the target of 241 runs, India batted for an additional 19 balls, as it was a practice match. The team opted to play all 46 overs to ensure they were fully prepared for the upcoming pink-ball Test in Adelaide, starting December 6.
Fit-again Gill shines, Rohit fails at No. 4
Shubman Gill eased concerns about his thumb injury with a stylish fifty, while captain Rohit kept his plans under wraps by coming in at No. 4.
Rohit stuck with the opening combination of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, opting to drop himself down the order. However, his time at the crease was brief, lasting just 11 deliveries before he edged one to the slips under the night lights.
The most encouraging news for India was Gill’s performance with the bat. A cracking square cut off seamer Mahli Beardman in his first few balls suggested that his fractured left thumb had fully healed, and he is fit for the Adelaide Test.
However, it remains to be seen whether Rohit will return to open in the second Test against Australia, starting Friday in Adelaide.
The Indian team management was tactical in its choices as Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah decided on facing each other at the nets rather than providing data to the Aussie think-tank.