The Indian cricket team started their preparation for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 on a positive note, as they defeated Western Australia XI by 13 runs in their first warm-up match at Perth on Monday, 10 October. Suryakumar Yadav, who has been in sublime form for the boys in blue, once again emerged as the saviour of the team.
With the match providing an opportunity to put the team to test, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma opted to bat first after winning the toss. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli did not feature in this match, with Rishabh Pant opening the innings alongside his leader.
However, neither could get going in this fixture. Sharma could only score three runs before losing his wicket to Jason Behrendorff, while Pant toiled hard for his 16-ball 9 before departing. Deepak Hooda, who batted in number three, got a start but could not capitalize on it, with Behrendorff dismissing him for 22.
It was then Suryakumar Yadav’s turn to provide some much-needed pace to India’s innings. The 32-year-old, who has scored three half-centuries in his last four matches for the national team, struck yet another half-century here, scoring 52 runs in 35 deliveries.
Hardik Pandya chipped in with a crucial contribution of 27 runs from 20 deliveries, while a 19-run knock from Dinesh Karthik and a quickfire 10 from Axar Patel helped the visitors breach the 150-run mark at Perth, scoring 158/6.
Arshdeep Singh Scalps Three Wickets
In response, Western Australia XI lost four wickets inside the powerplay as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh gave their team a brilliant start. Sam Fanning took the game deep by scoring a fighting 59, but it ultimately proved to be inconsequential as the hosts could only score 145/8 in their allocated 20 overs.
For Sharma’s team, Arshdeep Singh was the best bowler as he scalped three wickets by conceding only six runs, while Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal picked up two wickets apiece.