ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Suryakumar smashes 50 as India trumps Western Australia in warm-up tie
India faced off against Western Australia in a practice game in Perth on Monday. The Indians came up with a 13-run win, while Suryakumar Yadav struck a 50 in his maiden outing in Australia.
FollowIndian top-order batter Suryakumar Yadav resumed his excellent form, as the Indian side had a great outing against Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) XI. The visitors conquered the hosts by 13 runs in its opening preparation match ahead of the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup at the WACA Stadium in Perth on Monday. The Indian side has been training at the WACA for the past three days. It wanted to get used to the pace and bounce of the track. The visitors scored 158/6 in their stipulated 20 overs. In reply, WACA could only manage 145 in its 20 overs.
Skipper Rohit Sharma's and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant opened the innings, while it's usually fellow wicketkeeper KL Rahul instead of the latter. But, it was Suryakumar, whose 35-ball 52 was the highlight of the Indian innings, while a few hundred fans appreciated his flawless stroke-making. He struck three fours and as many sixes during his innings, and the pace and bounce of the track never troubled the second-ranked ranked Twenty20 International (T20I) batter.
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The other man, who made a considerable donation, was all-rounder Hardik Pandya, scoring a quickfire 29 off 20 deliveries. Deepak Hooda also chipped in with a 14-ball 22 as India sliced 39/2 in the Powerplay (PP). When Suryakumar was dismissed in the 17th, India was 129/5, but the last three overs paid 29 runs, getting it closer to an honourable 160-run mark.
Defending the total against a second-string WACA XI team wasn't an enormous task, as seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh blew away the home side's top order with the six over of the PP. WACA was reduced to 29/4 by the sixth, and it could never recuperate from the lapse.
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Arshdeep was the best Indian bowler in the tie, with notable figures of 3/6 from three overs, while Bhuvneshwar (2/26) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/15) also contributed with a couple of wickets. India's subsequent trial match against the same opposition will happen on Thursday before the side heads to Brisbane for the two official warm-up contests against Australia and New Zealand.
Brief Scores: India 158/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar- 52, Pandya- 29, Hooda- 22) defeated WACA XI 145 (Arshdeep- 3/6, Bhuvneshwar- 2/26, Chahal- 2/10) by 13 runs.
(With inputs from PTI)
