India’s youngsters led India to a convincing victory in their warm-up match against England. KL Rahul, Ishaan Kishan and Rishabh Pant batted outstandingly under the warm Dubai night sky last night.
KL and Kishan opened the batting for India after England gave them a target of 189. The young pair partnered up to score 82 runs pretty quickly as India looked comfortable with the bat.
KL was the first to score a 50, and soon was dismissed, at 51. Ishaan Kishan however, stayed at the crease for a while longer, as he went on to score 70 runs in just 46 balls. Pant later on came in to score 29* and created a short but vital partnership with the returning Hardik Pandya to win India the game.
Pant finished off in style with a huge six, showing shades of his hero and the current mentor for Team India, MS Dhoni.
In terms of bowling, Shami took 3 important wickets to limit England, while Bumrah conceded the least of all at 26 runs in 4 overs, also crucially bowling out Bairstow. Chahar and Bhuvaneshwar the controversial picks from team India proved to be extremely expensive, with Kumar conceding a whopping 54 runs in 4 his 4 overs.
India will play Australia in their second and last warm-up match on Wednesday before starting their World Cup campaign against Pakistan on Sunday.
England will start their World Cup campaign officially on Saturday against the former champions, the West Indies.
However, England might have to go ahead without the in-form Liam Livingstone. The English-man was injured last night against India. Ishaan Kishan’s Leg side shot, was almost caught by Livingstone, as he injured his finger and dropped the catch. Although the warm up victory wasn’t the goal, India still picked up the momentum heading into their clash with Pakistan.
Liam left the field immediately after the botched fielding effort with the team physio as he injured the little finger of his left hand.
Moen Ali, who got England to a score of 188 to set up a target of 189, commented on the whole situation post match. “I think he’s alright,” he said. “I think it’s just bruising on the back of the hand but I think he’ll be fine. Obviously it was a bit of a scare at the time but he said it was fine, so hopefully he’s all good. He’s a brilliant player – he’s been playing really well over the last couple of years. Hopefully he can carry that form into the World Cup and I feel like it’s going to be a big stage for him.”
On Wednesday, Virat Kohli completed 13 years of international cricket. Considering his record in ODIs and Tests, the batting legend scored 7609 runs with 27 centuries.
13 years of Virat Kohli: Check Team India skipper Kohli’s 13 best knocks
1) 133 vs Sri Lanka, 2012 Commonwealth Bank series
Against Sri Lanka, Kohli scored an unbeaten 133 runs in a must-win match. As India chased 321 runs, Kohli hammered 16 boundaries and two sixes to help India reach the target in just 36.4 overs. In the minds of Indian cricket fans, the image of hapless Lasith Malinga being taken to the cleaners still lingers.
2) 82 vs Australia, 2016 T20 World Cup
Kohli played the innings of his life as India defeated Australia in the quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals. As Kohli chased a tricky 162 run target, he dropped anchor and made 82 off 51 deliveries to win the match.
3) 183 vs Pakistan, 2012 Asia Cup
With Virat Kohli scoring 183, his highest ODI score, India beat Pakistan’s bowling attack in the final 13 balls of the match. Both Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma scored valuable fifties, but Kohli was at his best.
4) 100 vs Australia 2nd ODI, 2013 Australia tour of India
Kohli demonstrated how to finish games by slamming an unbeaten century against Australia in Jaipur. In a high scoring thriller, Australia scored 359/5 and India chased down the target in 43.3 overs to win by nine wickets. Rohit Sharma won the match with an unbeaten 141, but Kohli played a significant role with an unbeaten century.
5) 100 vs Bangladesh, Group Match, 2011 World Cup
India made an impressive start to their World Cup campaign with Virender Sehwag’s 175 off 140 balls in Dhaka. As a result of Kohli’s unbeaten century, India posted a massive target of 370/4 and won by 87 runs.
6) 154 vs New Zealand, 3rd ODI, 2016 New Zealand tour of India
Kohli scored an unbeaten 154 off 134 deliveries as India chased down 286 runs to win by seven wickets.
7) 160 vs South Africa, 3rd ODI, 2013 India tour of South Africa
Another record was broken by the run machine as Cape Town witnessed a special knock. Kohli scored an unbeaten 160 off 159 balls as India posted 303/6 and then bowled South Africa out for 179.
8) 100 vs Pakistan, 4th Match, 2015 World Cup
Kohli’s century helped India beat Pakistan by 76 runs, keeping their World Cup record intact. There is something always special about a World Cup century.
9) 157 vs West Indies, 2nd ODI, 2018 West Indies tour of India
In Visakhapatnam, Virat Kohli made an unbeaten 157 off 129 balls. Despite this, West Indies tied the match.
10) 254 vs South Africa, 2nd Test, 2019, World Test Championship
India captain Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 254 off 336 balls as India beat South Africa by an innings and 137 runs.
During the first Test against Australia in Adelaide, Virat Kohli scored two breathtaking centuries. Kohli scored 115 in the first innings and 141 in the second innings. India was 48 runs away from victory.
12) 153 vs South Africa, 2nd Test, 2018 India tour of South Africa
With a 217-ball 153, Kohli helped India stage a dramatic comeback. Kohli’s knock was a joy to watch even though South Africa won the Test by 135 runs.
13) 116 vs Australia, 4th Test, Adelaide, 2012 India tour of Australia
Young Virat Kohli scored a brilliant century against all odds to announce his arrival on the Test circuit. Since then, the Indian captain has been unstoppable.
