Rohit Sharma was a pleased captain after India registered a five-wicket victory over the Australian Prime Minister’s XI in a pink-ball warm-up match at the Manuka Oval, Canberra on Sunday (December 1).
The Indian skipper expressed satisfaction that his team achieved their pre-game objectives ahead of the second Test against Australia, which will be played with the pink-ball at the Adelaide Oval.
This win was engineered by Harshit Rana's four-wicket haul and strong batting performances from Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
"It was fantastic (the match and the win). We got what we wanted as a group. It was a bit unfortunate that we couldn't play the entire game, but we made the most of the time we had,” Rohit said.
He also acknowledged the crowd's support while speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“Absolutely fantastic (to see the crowd). We love coming to Australia, and it's always great to see fans turn up to support us. There's never been a time when they haven't shown up. It's really nice to see people coming out and cheering for us," he added.
The warm-up fixture, initially planned for two days, was curtailed to a 46-overs-per-side game due to rain on both Saturday and Sunday.
Invited to bat first, PM XI were bowled out for 240 in 43.2 overs. Opener Sam Konstas, a rising U19 star, scored a remarkable century (107 runs off 97 balls, including 14 fours and a six). Hanno Jacobs also contributed significantly with a quickfire 61 off 60 balls, hitting four boundaries and two sixes.
Harshit Rana starred with the ball for India, taking four wickets for 44 runs in his six-over spell. Akash Deep claimed two wickets, while Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Prasidh Krishna returned with one scalp each.
India's opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal (45 runs off 59 balls) and KL Rahul (27 retd hurt off 44 balls) provided a solid foundation with a 75-run partnership.
Following Rohit Sharma's dismissal for just three runs, Shubman Gill (50 retd hurt off 62 balls) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (42 runs off 32 balls) took charge, putting the opposition bowlers under pressure.
Washington Sundar (42* off 36 balls) and Ravindra Jadeja (27 runs off 31 balls) further solidified India's innings, guiding them to a final score of 257/5 in 46 overs.
