India beat Australia by 9 wickets in their second warm-up match of the T20 World Cup 2021 in Dubai on Wednesday. Chasing the target of 153 runs, KL Rahul (39) and Rohit Sharma (60) gave a flying start to India with their 68-run opening stand. Stand-in skipper Rohit completed his half-century in 36 balls after Rahul got out on a brilliant turning ball from Aston Agar. Suryakumar Yadav, who came to bat at No.3, in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli also batted well with his unbeaten 38-run knock. India's last hero in the last match, Ishan Kishan didn't get an opportunity to bat in this game but he was seen keeping the wickets instead of Rishabh Pant. Earlier, the Aaron Finch-led side ended its innings at 152 runs after being reduced to 11/3 in the fourth over. Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin (2/8), Ravindra Jadeja (1/35) and Rahul Chahar (1/17) picked up wickets at regular intervals but India's old nemesis, Steve Smith (57), came back to haunt them. Smith scored a half-century in 41 balls and added 76 runs for the fifth wicket with Marcus Stoinis (41*). Smith also added 61 runs with Glenn Maxwell (37) for the fourth wicket. India's designated captain Virat Kohli was seen bowling a few overs as the team management is looking for a 6th bowling option ahead of the side's tournament opener against Pakistan on October 24. (SCORECARD)
T20 World Cup 2021, India vs Australia Warm-Up Cricket Match Highlights Straight From ICC Academy Ground, DubaiÂ
Another SIX!! for Rohit Sharma. He got to the position early and picked up the short-length delivery from Cummins very easily. 50 partnership between these two.
50 up for Rohit Sharma with a boundary against Marcus Stoinis. So, now all three players who are selected as openers in Indian squad- Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have got fifties in warm-up games. It will be a tough call for skipper and team management to adjust all three of them in the playing XI.
Rohit Sharma has given a big update on Hardik Pandya bowling by saying the all-rounder might start bowling before the start of the tournament.
"Kohli, Bumrah and Shami are resting today. We wanted to bat first as well, just wanted to try and get runs on the board. We want to make sure that we get the 6th bowling option, some options in the batting order as well, we'll try all those things today. Hardik is coming along pretty well, but it'll be a while before he will start to bowl. He hasn't started bowling, but he should be ready by the start of the tournament. We have quality in the main bowlers, but you need an option for a 6th bowler," said skipper Rohit Sharma, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
India Cricket Team
Australia Cricket Team