India vs Australia PM XI: India extends its winning run on Australian shores

India extends winning run in warm-up game against Prime Minister's XI, showcasing strong batting and bowling performances.

A warm-up game with a serious tone and a decent turnout, witnessed India extend its winning run upon Australian shores. Against the Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval in Canberra on Sunday (December 1, 2024), Rohit Sharma’s men registered an easy victory. Pursuing the host’s 240, India finished with 257 for five as every ounce of batting practice was extracted.

During the chase, K.L. Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal stepped out as openers. Rahul was steady, Jaiswal was aggressive. The former drove with elan, the latter squirted a few edges over slips. While Scott Boland felt the heat of Rahul’s willow, Jack Nisbet found Jaiswal giving him the charge.

As night descended, Rahul preferred his runs down the turf while Jaiswal picked his spots square off the pitch. The pink ball was dealt with adequately before the latter holed out in the deep. India 75 for one and hope was gleaned from Shubman Gill returning to the crease after recovering from a left thumb injury.

With Rahul retiring on 27 and Rohit striding out, India had two batters wending their way back into the big picture ahead of next week’s Adelaide Test. Rohit seemed patient until he fell on a loose drive outside the off-stump. The Indian fans expected Virat Kohli, who like Jasprit Bumrah, skipped the game. Instead, Nitish Kumar walked towards the crease and instantly flourished.

Meanwhile, Gill looked at ease with a rasping pull for four off Hanno Jacobs. Spinner Lloyd Pope and seamer Aidan O’Connor were toyed with and then Gill retired after his 50. Nitish fell too but there were no alarms as Washington Sundar shepherded India towards the winning post with Ravindra Jadeja lending a hand till the cusp of a triumph.

Earlier in the afternoon, the skies were a deep blue even if the odd dark cloud threatened to replicate Saturday’s rains. Rohit won the toss, elected to field and though it was a 50-overs-per-side fixture, this was more of a distilled version of Test cricket as players turned out in whites, there were no fielding restrictions and a packed slip-cordon was on view as Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep steamed in.

Opener Sam Konstas, aged 19, was a lively presence while his senior partner Matt Renshaw and Jayden Goodwin edged and departed on either side of a brief rain-break which reduced the contest to a 46-overs-per-side affair. Konstas drove, flicked and lived on the edge while scooping deliveries behind the wicket and past the ropes. He found an ally in southpaw Jack Clayton (40), and the two added 109 runs for the third wicket.