Highlights, India vs Western Australia XI, Twenty20 warm-up Match: India Ease to 74-Run Win
A solid bowling performance by the Indian bowlers saw the visitors restrict Western Australia XI to 118 for six in 20 overs. Barinder Sran, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel finish with two wickets each. Catch all highlights here.
Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli notched aggressive fifties as India ended up on 192/4. The Indian bowlers backed the batting performance and kept the Western Australia XI batsmen at bay with some fine bowling to record an easy 74-run win. Catch all the highlights here (NEWS | VIDEOS)
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18:33 hrs IST: And it's finally over. Easy win for India. Solid bowling performance from India. India win by 74 runs!!
18:32 hrs IST: Sran with back to back wides. It's the final ball. Maybe he doesn't want to finish.
18:30 hrs IST: Dropped!! Rahane good effort there. Diving forward but the ball pops out. Birt was walking off but a honest Rahane calls the batsman back.
18:29 hrs IST: Four!! Travis Birt smashes Sran for a boundary. Too little too late for Western Australia!
18:28 hrs IST: Sran to bowl the final over and almost gets another wicket.
18:26 hrs IST: Dropped again! This time its Umesh Yadav!! Axar Patel is denied his third wicket. But India are just going through their motions now. WA XI - 109/6 in 19 overs.
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18:21 hrs IST: Back to Back Four!! Travis Birt is the lone warrior for Western Australia. He drives Yadav brilliantly and then flicks him!! WA reach the 100-run mark.
18:18 hrs IST: Wicket!! Second Wicket for Axar Patel. What a stumping from MS Dhoni again. Kelly trudges off the field with WA XI - 92/6 in 17 overs.
18:15 hrs IST: Dropped!! Poor fielding by Sran. Birt pulled well but found Barinder Sran on the midwicket boundary. The Indian tries reverse cup catch but spills it.
18:13 hrs IST: Wicket!! Axar Patel takes India's fifth. Jaron Morgan returns to the pavilion. WA XI - 83/5 in 15 overs.
18:11 hrs IST: Just as we say that, a streaky boundary from Travis Birt brings about a half-century for him. Well played Birt!!
18:10 hrs IST: Western Australian batsmen just can't get the spinners away.
18:08 hrs IST: Ashwin finishes his spell with another tidy over. No wickets for the offie but an economical spell. WA XI - 76-4 in 14 overs.
18:05 hrs IST: Stumped!! Another wicket for Jadeja. That was lightening stumping from MS Dhoni. Nick Hobson (5) is sent packing. 73/4 after 13 overs.
18:03 hrs IST: It's starting to slip away from Western Australia. WA XI - 67/3 in 12 overs.
18:02 hrs IST: Big appeal from Ashwin! But the umpire shakes his head. Spinners doing the job again for India.
18:00 hrs IST: Another great over for India. WA XI are digging themselves into a hole here. They have to get a move on! WA XI - 62/4 in 11 overs.
17:58 hrs IST: Out!! Jadeja strikes for India. Inglis is gone for 11 off 20 balls.
17:57 hrs IST: Excellent over from Ashwin! WA XI - 61/2 after 10 overs. India were 76/1 at the same time!
17:54 hrs IST: Tidy over from Rishi Dhawan! Five runs from the over. WA XI - 58/2 in 9 overs.
17:52 hrs IST: Inglis survives a nervy moment. Goes for a pull off the bowling of Rishi Dhawan but skies it. No fielder there!
17:47 hrs IST: Nine from Ashwin's first over. Wester Australia are doing well. 54 for 2 after 8 overs. Require 139 from 12 overs. Travis Birt is the key!
17:45 hrs IST: Four!! Birt is on fire!! Beautiful cut shot for another boundary. Ashwin comes for his first over. Let's see what he can do.
17:44 hrs IST: The tormentor of the South Africans is here. Let's see how Jadeja fares on Australian pitches.
17:43 hrs IST: 12 runs from the Rishi Dhawan over. Six boundaries have all come from Birt's bat. WA XI - 39-2 in 6 overs. Jadeja comes in to bowl!
17:40 hrs IST: Back to Back Fours!! Travis Birt seems to be the dangerman. Rishi Dhawan has been put away for consecutive boundaries.
17:38 hrs IST: Both Sran and Yadav are bowling quick and putting the Australian batsman under immense pressure. WA XI - 27/2 in 5 overs.
17:36 hrs IST: Sran is bowling quick and short. William Bosisto tries to pull another short one but top edges to find R Ashwin at square leg.
17:34 hrs IST: Wicket!! Another wicket for Barinder Sran.
17:32 hrs IST: Four!! Travis Birt swings and swings hard. Umesh Yadav was bowling well but Birt is connecting well. WA XI - 26-1 after 4 overs.
17:27 hrs IST: Out!! First Wicket for India. D'arcy Short tries to pull but manages to only find the fielder at short mid-wicket.
17:26 hrs IST: Four!! Slapped hard by Birt to the square boundary. Poor delivery from Sran.
17:25 hrs IST: Bouncer from Sran. Travis Birt top edges and it goes high, really high - but luckily there was no fielder there.
17:24 hrs IST: Four!! Lovely flick off the pads by D'arcy Short. Lose ball from Umesh Yadav. WA XI 12-0 after 2 overs.
17:22 hrs IST: Swing and a miss!! Yadav full and a little wide to Short but the Australian batsman fails to connect.
17:29 hrs IST: Four!! Birt smashes it back at Sran and nearly takes his head off. Western Australia 6-0 after the first over.
17:18 hrs IST: Sran seems to have a bit of pace going for him. Excellent bowling from the left-armer!!
17:16 hrs IST: Barinder Sran starts off the proceedings for India with a wide.
17:14 hrs IST: The players and umpires are making their way back to the ground.
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16:58 hrs IST: India do not end on a strong note as Dhoni struggles to find the ropes. They finish on 192/4 thanks to a pair of 74s from Dhawan and Kohli. Can India follow-up with a strong bowling performance?
16:52 hrs IST: WICKET! Rahane falls for 2 and India are not closing things out strongly at the death. Can Dhoni finish it off on a high?
16:48 hrs IST: Finally, Dhoni connects and he smashes a pull shot to long leg. It is a crowd catch and the person is celebrating. The crowd erupt at the WACA.India 183/3 after 19 overs. Can they reach 200?
16:47 hrs IST: Dhoni swings and misses a couple of times. He is struggling to get the finishing touches in as India stutter towards the end.
16:43 hrs IST: WICKET! Now, Dhawan falls. India are stuttering at the end here. He picks out midwicket where D'Arcy Short takes a simple catch. Good knock though from Dhawan and India are 173/3 after 18 overs.
16:38 hrs IST: WICKET! Brilliant catch from Josh Inglis. Nicholas bowls a full, slower ball outside off, Kohli goes for the slog and Josh Inglis dives to his right to take a good catch. Kohli goes for a magnificent 74 and India are 161/2 in 16.4 overs.
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16:35 hrs IST: Decent over from Kelly is spoiled by a last ball six from Dhawan. He continues to hit boundaries for fun at the WACA.
16:29 hrs IST: With back-to-back boundaries, Kohli brings up an aggressive fifty. He continues on his merry ways with a huge six over wide long off. Moody concedes 24 runs in his third over. India 136/1 after 15 overs.
16:25 hrs IST: The partnership is now worth 100 runs. After 14 overs, India are 112/1.
16:23 hrs IST: Kohli smashes two straight drives O'Connor and he has raced to 40. The partnership is nearing 100.
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16:18 hrs IST: With a drilling straight drive, Dhawan notches up a fifty off 31 balls. He has been in fine form and Kohli is playing a solid knock. The partnership is putting India in a a great position.
16:15 hrs IST: The partnership between Kohli and Dhawan has now gone past 70. Western Australia XI are struggling to contain the flow of runs.
16:09 hrs IST: BOOM! This time Kohli joins the party. Moody drags this delivery short and it is on leg stump, Kohli hooks it into the grassbanks at fine leg. India 70/1 after nine overs.
16:04 hrs IST: Poor bowling from Liam O'Connor. The legspinner misses both his line and length and he gets punished by Kohli, who smashes him for two boundaries. O'Connor concedes 14 runs in his first over.
16:00 hrs IST: David Moody is into the attack now. Just for your information, he is Tom Moody's nephew.
15:56 hrs IST: WHAM! Kelly bangs a short delivery down the leg side and Dhawan effortlessly pulls it over fine leg for the first six of the game.
15:55 hrs IST: Matthew Kelly comes into the attack now. So far, Western Australia have not allowed the Indian batsman to get away but they will be wanting more wickets. Dhawan is looking to take the attack to the bowlers.
15:50 hrs IST: Virat Kohli gets going with a nicely timed couple to deep extra cover. Duffield and Nicholas are creating some chances but the inexperienced attack is struggling for consistency
15:45 hrs IST: CRACK! Awesome shot from Dhawan. Nicholas overpitches outside off and Dhawan caresses the drive to deep extra cover. Looking in good touch.
15:43 hrs IST: OUT! Superb fielding from Western Australia. Rohit taps Duffield to mid-off and he sets off for a quick single, there is some hesitation in the running and the fielder swoops in and scores a hit at the bowler's hit. Rohit falls for 6, India are 12/1 in the third over.
15:39 hrs IST: Nicholas bangs the delivery short outside off and Rohit goes for the pull shot but he is beaten by the extra bounce
15:35 hrs IST: Both Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan have begun with a boundary. Ryan Duffield opens the bowling for Western Australia along with Josh Nicholas.
15:30 hrs IST: India have won the toss and chosen to bat against Western Australia XI in Perth. Rohit Sharma gets going with a fine boundary.
Openers @SDhawan25 and @ImRo45 have walked out to the middle #WAXIvIND pic.twitter.com/T0j7Vav5GN
- BCCI (@BCCI) January 8, 2016
15:27 hrs IST: India are back on their second tour of Australia after one year and they will be aiming to break their losing streak, having gone without a win against Australia on the 2014/15 tour. This tour also gives Mahendra Singh Dhoni the perfect opportunity to leave Australia on a high for possibly the last time.
15:25 hrs IST: A warm welcome to the first warm-up game between India and Western Australia XI in Perth. This is a Twenty20 game and both teams will be fielding some additional players.
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It has been 25 years since India last won an ODI against Australia at the WACA in Perth. On the 2014/15 tour, India failed to win a single Test or an ODI against Australia. Now, after one year, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be leading India in Australia again and it begins a very important three months for them. (Chance for MS Dhoni to Turn Woeful Record in Australia Around)
Dhoni, who is fresh and rejuvenated following a break, will be eager to break India's losing streak in bilateral series. Having played the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Jharkhand, Dhoni has some match practice heading into the game against Western Australia XI but he will be hopeful that the team adjusts to the conditions.
The squad selected for the series has a mixture of youth and experience. They include allrounders Rishi Dhawan and Hardik Pandya, Gurkeerat Singh and left-arm pace bowler Barinder Sran. The Twenty20 squad also includes Harbhajan Singh, who has been in red-hot form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 trophy and also Yuvraj Singh, who has been in sparkling form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. (Australia Without Starc, Johnson Are Formidable: Ajinkya Rahane)
Western Australia, on the other hand, are without their top players who busy with KFC Big Bash League commitments. William Bosisto, the Australian U-19 captain in 2012 will lead a largely inexperienced XI, featuring Perth Scorchers squad members Travis Birt and James Muirhead and WA contracted player David Moody, the nephew of former Australian player Tom Moody. (Australia In Transition Have a Battle On their Hands)
India will be aiming to put up a strong performance in the warm-up games on Friday and Saturday and build momentum for the ODI series starting on January 12. Australia, who are missing the services of Mitchell Starc due to injury and Mitchell Johnson who has retired, will be up for the challenge.
Coach Darren Lehmann said, "They are a quality side so from our point of view we have got to start well and play well against them. It will be a good challenge for them. We play top cricket and India play the same way, so it will be an exciting series."
Squads:
India Twenty20 Squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (c and wk), Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra
Western Australia Playing XI: Will Bosisto (c), Travis Birt, Jake Carder, Ryan Duffield, Nick Hobson, Josh Inglis, Matt Kelly, David Moody, Jaron Morgan, James Muirhead, Josh Nicholas, Liam O'Connor, Darcy Short