World Cup Warm-Up, Highlights: Wayward India Lose to Australia by 106 Runs But Dhawan, Rayudu Find Form
India need 372 to win warm-up match against Australia. Catch all the live updates of the match.
India have been plagued with injuries. With Ishant Sharma out of World Cup, India need to find answers to quite a few questions. Catch all the live updates of the match here: (Live Scorecard | Live Updates | Fixtures | Complete World Cup Coverage)
* India are all out for 265 vs India and they have lost the warm-up by 106 runs. However, MS Dhoni feels he can take plenty of positives in this defeat and said the dressing-room atmosphere was great.
* India are on the path to a massive defeat against Australia with both Rayudu and Jadeja back in the hut. The defending world champions could not have gone off to a worse start to their campaign Down Under.
* Rayudu is playing some aggressive shots to offer some entertainment to the Indians in the crowd. India have gone past 200 but Australia are firmly on course for victory after amassing 371.
* India's unimpressive performance continued as Stuart Binny fell to Mitchell Johnson. The tourists are in tatters at 185/7
* Disaster for India! Australia have snapped up Rahane, Dhawan, Raina and Dhoni in the space of 16 runs to tear apart the tourists' batting line-up. India are 173/6 in pursuit of 372 to win the warm-up match in Adelaide.
* Dhawan and Rahane brought up their fifties to put India on course for a fight as they chased a massive 372 vs Australia in their first warm-up match in the World Cup.
* Dhawan is looking solid in the middle for India as he approaches a half-century. Rahane is also batting fluently at the other end and that should be a great sign for India going into their title defence.
* Out! Virat Kohli's poor form continues. He is bowled by Starc on 18.
* Out! Rohit falls. He did hit a confident shot to the fence but fails to build on it. He scored 8 before surrendering to Josh Hazlewood.
* Indians are out for the chase and it's Shikhar Dhawan and a fit Rohit Sharma who will look for valuable practice.
* Out! Cummins is bowled by Shami. Australia end innings on 371.
* Out! Mitchell Johnson falls Shami. Australia nine down.
* Dropped! Raina makes a mess of a shot offered by Pat Cummins. The ball went high but Raina has taken much tougher catches than that in the past.
* Maxwell decides to retire from the innings. His second fifty took just 19 balls!
* Maxwell slams a four to complete his century. He took just 53 balls to reach the three-figure mark.
* Out! Mitchll Marsh falls to Umesh. He scored 21.
* Maxwell is hitting with ferocious intent. He has taken a liking to the Indian slower bowlers and is on 81 off 46.
* Australia complete 250 in the 39th over. Maxwell also completes his half century. He took 34 balls.
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* Maxwell is accelerating for the Aussies. He has stormed into his 40s.
* Out! Bailey (44) misses his fifty. He looks to take on Mohammad Shami but finds the fielder on the leg side. Australia though are going at a good rate.
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* Maxwell has made his way to the middle but the usual fireworks that follow are missing so far. He is playing with captain George Bailey who is eying his fifty.
* Out! Warner falls for 104 and it is young Axar Patel who strikes for India.
* Warner has kept attacking from one end. He has now raced his way into the 90s.
* OUT! India claim two quick wickets. Shane Watson (22) falls to Mohit Sharma while Steve Smith (1) is bowled by Umesh.
* Warner has completed his fifty off just 42 balls. His innings so far has seen seven fours and a six. He is playing with Shane Watson at the other end. Are Aussies the most feared side this World Cup?
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* Out! Finch (20) looks to clear the infield but finds the fielder off Binny's bowling.
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* Solid start from the Aussies. Both Warner and Finch have played some good strokes early.
* David Warner and Aaron Finch open the innings for Australia. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Stuart Binny get the new ball.
* The Indian players appear well-rested. "The break was important," says pacer Umesh Yadav. "It has helped clear our minds and refreshed us."
* What did Dhoni tell his boys after the tri-series loss? "Take rest and just don't get arrested or killed. Rest all is ok," he reveals.
* Toss! Australia captain George Bailey calls it right and his side will bat first. MS Dhoni says he would have wanted to bat first too but is ready to experiment in the practice match.
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India's form and fitness will be under spotlight when they take on hosts Australia in the opening warm-up game of the World Cup. India have suffered a major setback after pacer Ishant Sharma failed his fitness test due to a knee injury on Saturday. However, there is some good news for Indian fans as both Rohit Sharma and medium pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar were declared fit. Ishant is likely to be replaced by medium pacer Mohit Sharma in the squad.
Fitness of Rohit, Bhuvneshwar and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will be tested against Australia on Sunday. Despite his continuous failures, Shikhar Dhawan is likely to open the batting and these two games will be the last chances that he will get to cement his place in the playing XI. There was experiment with Virat Kohli's batting slot in the tri-series and the management also has to decide quickly on giving him a final slot.
All this has to be decided on Sunday and on Tuesday when the team plays minnows Afghanistan in the final warm up game before the big clash against arch-rivals Pakistan on February 15. ('India Still Have Good Chance to Defend World Cup')
In Rohit, the only batsman with two 200s in one-day internationals, Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina and the explosive MS Dhoni, India possess destructive batting firepower. But the frail bowling attack remains a worry, as was evident during the recent Test series where the hosts piled up 500-plus totals in each of the four matches. (Sachin Says India Must Learn From Defeats Down Under)