Rohit Sharma, after not playing the first warm up match against England, was finally selected in the squad for the second match against Australia.
India, after conceding 152 runs as a target, went on to win the match easily by 9 wickets. From the bowling side, the experience of R. Ashwin came in handy as he took 2 major wickets at only 8 runs. In the second innings, instead of opening with Kishan and KL, the squad opened the batting with KL and Rohit Sharma. They partnered up to score 68 runs together, until KL’s wicket was taken. At 60 runs for 41 balls, Rohit Sharma wasn’t slowing down. Eventually he had to be retired to give others a chance to assess and play on the pitch.
The match started with Finch choosing to bat, as India took 3 wickets for Australia’s first 11 wickets. After that it was up to the likes of Smith, Maxwell and Stoinis to play smartly and get a defendable total. But eventually their bowling side let them down.
Kohli, who led the Indian team during the first innings, also bowled 2 overs for lack of a better option. While Sharma took charge of the batting innings, he retired at 60 and Suryakumar finished off Australia with a 38 from just 27 deliveries.
India now go into the World Cup and their first match against Pakistan with 2 straight wins, although in a warm up, against 2 of the best teams in the world.