Rahul, Kishan guide India to win in warm-up game

Romp home by seven wickets as Kohli decides to bat in No 3 spot

In-form opener KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan ensured India started their Twenty20 World Cup preparations on a positive note with a convincing sevenwicket victory over England at the ICC Academy grounds in Dubai yesterday. Chasing a stiff target of 189, Rahul, who showed tremendous consistency in the recently concluded Indian Premier League, extended his impressive run to score 51 off just 24 balls, while Kishan, who ended his slump against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final league encounter, found his bearing again with a timely 70 (retired not out). Despite skipper Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav falling cheaply, Rishibh Pant and Hardik Pandya took the Men in Blue over the line with one over to spare, after scoring 23 runs off the penultimate over.

Same energy

Earlier Kohli, who had announced that he would be stepping down from the captaincy at the end of the World Cup held in UAE and Oman, decided to chase after winning the toss, saying that the Team India had success in the past while chasing and wanted to create the same energy in the practice game. The England openers Jason Roy and Jos Buttler got off to a perfect start but could not sustain the momentum with Mohammad Shami ending their stay.

After the toss, speaking to Star Sports, Kohli said that he would bat at No 3 spot and open with Rohit Sharma and Rahul. “Things were different before IPL, now it’s difficult to look beyond KL Rahul. He’s been solid upfront. I will be batting at 3. That’s the only thing I can say for now.”

Pant and Pandya took the Men in Blue over the line with one over to spare, after scoring 23 runs off the penultimate over.