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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Oct 13, 2022, 01:16 PM IST
Team India locked horns with Western Australia XI on Thursday in Perth as part of their second unofficial warmup match before the T20 World Cup. Having gotten the better of their opponents by 13 runs in the previous match, the Men in Blue were looking to keep their winning momentum going.
KL Rahul surprisingly came out for the toss ahead of skipper Rohit Sharma and he called right and chose to bowl after winning the toss.
Invited to bat first, the home side led by Ashton Turner put up 168/8 on the board in their respective 20 overs, with D'Arcy Short's 52 off 39 balls, and Nick Hobson's 64-run inning in 41 deliveries helping the home side to put up a fight worthy total.
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Ravichandran Ashwin was the highest wicket-taker with his three wickets, all of which came in a single over, while Harshal Patel also impressed for the visitors.
Arshdeep Singh drew first blood for India as he dismissed Josh Philippe who had only managed to score 8 runs. However, from then on Short and Hobson stitched together a much-needed partnership as they rode the storm.
Matthew Kelly was the only other batsman apart from the aforementioned duo who scored in double digits with the rest of the batsmen failing to impress.
While Ashwin picked up three scalps, Harshal Patel gave away 27 runs and recorded two dismissals. The Men in Blue will need 169 runs to win, but with the likes of Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav rested for the fixture, it could prove to be a tricky chase for the visitors.
SKY had scored a half-century in the previous contest and it will be interesting to see how the Indian team will cope with his absence.
