Suryakumar stars as India wins practice game

PERTH: Suryakumar Yadav continued his good form with a half-century as India defeated Western Australia Cricket Association XI by 13 runs in its first practice match ahead of the T20 World Cup, here on Monday.

The India team, which has been training at the WACA Ground for the past few days, put 158 for six on the board while batting first. In reply, WACA XI could muster only 145 for eight. Instead of KL Rahul, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant partnered skipper Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. Both openers fell cheaply, but No.4 Suryakumar maintained his purple patch with a stroke-filled 52 off 35 deliveries (3 fours, 3 sixes).

Hardik Pandya too made a significant contribution, hitting 27 off 20 balls (1 four, 1 six) after walking out to bat at No.5. In the start, No.3 Deepak Hooda chipped in with 22 runs (14 balls, 2 fours, 1 six) as the Rohit-led side stood at 39 for two at the end of the powerplay.

In the second essay, pacers Arshdeep Singh (3/6) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/26) blew away the top-order of WACA XI, which was tottering at 29 for four at the conclusion of six overs. Meanwhile, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/15) scalped two wickets as the touring team was in the ascendancy throughout.

BRIEF SCORES: India 158/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar 52, Hardik 27, D Hooda 22) bt WACA XI 145/8 in 20 overs (Arshdeep 3/6, Y Chahal 2/15, Bhuvneshwar 2/26)