Rohit finds his rhythm as India outplay Aussies
India fine-tuned their T20 World Cup preparations with a convincing eight-wicket win over Australia in their final warmup game in Dubai on Wednesday.
But the sixth bowler’s slot remained a worry as even Virat Kohli rolled his arm over going into the tournament proper.
Captaining the side with Kohli only taking the field to bowl, Rohit Sharma (60 retired off 41) showed sublime touch alongside opening partner KL Rahul (39 off 31) as India chased down Australia’s 152 for five in 17.5 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav (38 not out off 27) came at number three in Kohli’s absence and got valuable time in the middle which should boost his confidence going ahead.
Hardik Pandya (14 not out off 8) came at four to finish the game and he did it with a clean hit over the bowler’s head.
Another plus for India was seasoned pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar finding rhythm after a poor outing against England. India had also beaten England in their earlier practice game.
The batting department looks more or less settled and the five specialist bowlers also inspire confidence but the same can’t be said about the extra bowling option with Hardik not bringing his all-round skills to the table at the moment.
“Hardik is coming along pretty well, but it’ll be a while before he will start to bowl. He hasn’t started bowling, but he should be ready by the start of the tournament,” said
Rohit at the toss for the warm-up match against Australia.
The team management is hoping he will be ready to bowl during India’s World Cup campaign which begins with the marquee clash against Pakistan on Sunday.
Skipper Kohli kept things tight with two overs of medium pace but it remains to be seen if he can do that in high-pressure situations. —