Picture Credit: X
On Sunday, December 1, India raced past Australia’s Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra during their ongoing tour down under. After the match being turned into a 50-over per side game, it got further reduced to 46-over per side match as rain delayed the proceedings on day two of the warm-up match. After winning the toss, India invited the PM XI to put the score first on the board.
The Men in Blue, led by Harshit Rana’s 4/44 in six-over spell, restricted the PM’s XI to 240/10 in 43.2 overs. Thus the Rohit Sharma-led side were put to chase the 241-run target in 46 overs, which they eventually did with six wickets and 19 balls to spare. In a notable move, during the India innings, skipper Rohit Sharma, who usually comes out to open alongside Yashasvi Jasiwal in Test cricket, walked out to bat at number four, hinting that KL Rahul might continue at the top of the order.
KL Rahul likely to open for India in pink-ball Test against Australia
However, wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul excelled while facing the new ball in the Perth Test against Australia, scoring 77 off 176 balls in the second innings in absence of Rohit Sharma, who was on a break due to the birth of his second child ‘Ahaan’. In the warm-up match on Sunday, it was KL Rahul who walked out to open the innings despite Rohit Sharma’s return into the side, hinting at the possibility of KL continuing to open the innings in the pink-ball Test, set to be played from December 6 onwards at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide.
Check out how India’s team sheet looked in the warm-up match against PM’s XI:
It is to be noted that Rohit Sharma started his Test career as a middle order batter in 2013. He was in and out of the team for nearly six years before finally sealing a spot at the top of the order in 2019. Since then, there has been no looking back for the 37-year-old as he further went up to take the helm in 2022.
