Rohit makes timely return to form

Van der Dussen hits ton for South Africa; Afghanistan beat West Indies

Indian opener Rohit Sharma made timely return to form with a half-century to guide India to second consecutive victory in the warm-up match against Australia at the ICC Academy in Dubai yesterday.

Chasing an easy target of 153, openers KL Rahul and Sharma made a cautious start, scoring 68 in 9.2 overs when Rahul was dismissed. Undeterred by the loss, Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav increased the tempo to score 59 runs in just over 5 overs. With the match almost in the bag, Hardik Pandya (14) and Yadav (38) completed the task to give India an eight-wicket win with more than two overs to spare.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who returned to the Indian Twenty20 side after a gap of four years, ensured David Warner’s misery continues by dismissing the left-hander for one in the second over of the match, after Australia won the toss and elected to bat first.

Getting into form

Former skipper Steve Smith shook off his rust with a 57 off 48 balls, while Glenn Maxwell (37), who extended his fine run in the UAE, Marcus Stoinis (41 not out) propelled Australia past the 150-mark.

Rassie van der Dussen hit an unbeaten 101 off 51 balls to guide

South Africa to a thrilling win off the last ball in a high-scoring clash against Pakistan. Put in to bat, Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali gave Pakistan innings flying finish, scoring 120 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings. Kagiso Rabada was the pick of the South African bowlers with three for 28.

In another match, Afghanistan defeated West Indies by 56 runs. Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad showcased their high-scoring abilities to give Afghanistan a brisk start, which formed the base for a total of 189 for 5 in 20 overs at ICC Academy in Dubai.

In reply, West Indies chase never really took off.

In the other match of the day, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow starred in England’s 13 run win over New Zealand at Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi.