Team India played their first practice match after landing in Australia for the upcoming series. The two teams named CK Nayudu XI and Ranjitsinhji XI were led by Virat Kohli and KL Rahul respectively. It was a 40-over intra-squad match that was played as a build-up to the first ODI which happens next Friday. The official Twitter handle of the Indian Cricket Team posted a series of photos from the clash between the two teams.
Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal opened the innings for the Rahul-led side. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill and Prithvi shaw opened for the Virat Kohli-led side. Rahul also kept wickets for his side. Meanwhile, Shikhar Dhawan will have a new partner for the ODI series in the absence of Rohit Sharma . he is more than likely to open with Mayank Agarwal with Rahul batting in the middle-order.
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Both the captains scored fifties in the warm-up game. Rahul scored 83 from 66 balls as his team finished with 235 in their 40 overs. Meanwhile, Kohli anchored a successful chase for his side by scoring 91 from 58 balls. They won the game with almost four overs to spare.
https://twitter.com/Vickyztweets/status/1330740331315281921?s=20
India will play 4 Tests, 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against Australia. The first ODI will take place on Friday in Sydney. The Test series starts from December 17 in Adelaide which marks India’s first Pink-Ball Test overseas.
Meanwhile, Team India still await the availability of two of their senior players for the Test series. Both Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma are nursing their respective injuries at the NCA. While Rohit is suffering from a hamstring injury, Ishant is suffering from a side-strain which ruled him out of IPL 2020.
“He (Rohit) was never going to play the white-ball leg of the tour, we needed to know how long he needed to rest, but you can’t afford a long period of rest. If he’s going to play red-ball cricket in the build-up for the Tests (as with Ishant), they need to be on the flight within the next 4-5 days. If one can’t, it’s going to be tough (talking about selection for the Test)” said Shastri.
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Here are the photos from Team India’s Intra-squad Match
