NEW DELHI: India captain Rohit Sharma experimented with a new wicketkeeper, Sarfaraz Khan, in place of the regular wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant during their warm-up match against Australia’s Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Sarfaraz replaced Pant as a substitute wicketkeeper ahead of India’s pink-ball day-night Test in Adelaide, which begins on December 6.
Pacer Harshit Rana impressed with figures of 4-44 as India bowled out the Australia PM’s XI for 240 in 43.2 overs.
After the first day of the two-day pink-ball tour match was washed out by rain, India opted to bowl first in a curtailed 50-over-a-side game.
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Young batter Sam Konstas stood out with a solid century off 90 balls, putting additional pressure on Australia’s out-of-form batter Marnus Labuschagne and debutant opener Nathan McSweeney, who had a quiet outing in Perth.
Rana’s brilliant spell, claiming four wickets in six balls, helped India restrict the PM’s XI to 240. Early wickets fell with opener Matthew Renshaw nicking off to second slip off Mohammed Siraj for just five, followed by Jayden Goodwin edging behind to the keeper off Akash Deep, leaving the PM’s XI at 22/2 after 5.5 overs.
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More rain reduced the match to 46 overs per side. Despite the interruptions, Konstas played a composed innings, hitting through the V and taking on the Indian bowlers. His remarkable reverse ramp shot off Akash Deep stood out, as he struck 107 off 97 balls, including 14 fours and a six, at a strike rate of 110.3. Konstas shared a 109-run partnership with Jack Clayton (40), but Rana’s four-wicket haul brought India back into the game, dismissing Clayton, Ollie Davies, Jack Edwards, and Sam Harper to leave the PM’s XI at 138/7.
Konstas found a reliable partner in Hanno Jacobs, and the two added 67 runs for the eighth wicket. Konstas was eventually dismissed after reaching his century, caught in the deep off Akash Deep’s bowling, while Jacobs was dismissed for 61 by Washington Sundar, ending the PM’s XI innings.
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