India stunned by Western Australia in the 2nd warm-up match; suffer defeat by 36 runs
Western Australia upset the Indians in the second warm-up match.
A wake-up call?
No. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav did not bat. They went in and tried something they would never do in a World Cup. Hence, the overreaction would be needless. The team was led by Kl Rahul.
India‘s playing XI against Western Australia: Rohit, Rahul (C), Hooda, Pant, Hardik, Karthik (WK), Axar, Harshal, Ashwin, Bhuvi, and Arshdeep.
As it happened.
India won the toss and opted to field first. Western Australia posted 168 for the loss of 8. Ravichandran Ashwin and Harshal Patel led the assault in pulling things back after a magnificent partnership between Short and Hobson.
WA appeared to be on track for a huge total after a 110-run stand between the duo. But Ashwin’s triple strike in the 17th over turned the game around. Harshal Patel also made a strong recovery, besting 2/27 in his fourth over.
Ashwin came back with 3/32. Arshdeep Singh took the other wicket after two were run-outs.
2nd innings.
The Indians were put in the backseat by some fierce bowling during what appeared to be an easy run chase. India got off to a poor start in the powerplay, scoring 29 runs for the loss of one wicket.
Kl initiated the pursuit by holding one end, but with wickets falling at the other end, he lacked a partner who could back him.
At the midway point, the Indians were reeling at 60 for the loss of three wickets, needing more than ten runs each over. Hardik was dismissed by Hamish McKenzie just when it appeared he was going to take the assault to the bowlers.
India reached 100 in the 14th over and had wickets in hand, but failed to accelerate, with only KL Rahul scoring 74. None of the other batters got going, with Karthik, Axar, and Pandya scoring 10, 2, and 17, respectively.
Positives.
It is critical to separate the good from the poor results because it is the only way forward.
- Ashwin picked up three wickets.
- Harshal has come back well from his failure in the first match.
- Kl Rahul is in the groove.
- Arshdeep and Bhuvi were economical.
