During the warm-up match between India and the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, Shubman Gill made a triumphant comeback and scored a half-century. On Sunday, December 1, the Rohit Sharma-led team won the toss and chose to bowl first in the pink-ball match, which was shortened to a 46-over per side match.
After breaking his left thumb in the intra-squad match simulation prior to the match, Shubman was unable to play in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024–25. At the Manuka Oval, though, the youthful player displayed signs of recovery with a fluid knock of 50 runs off 62 balls, including seven boundaries. After Yashasvi Jaiswal’s wicket fell, he came out to bat at number three. In the 17th over, the southpaw was out after scoring 45 off 59 balls.
To allow his other batters to practice against the pink ball under the lights, Shubman Gill eventually retired injured after hitting his half-century.
With the second Test about to begin at the Adelaide Oval on Friday, December 6, the Indian supporters and team management would feel quite confident after the Punjab batter’s innings. After winning the first Test by 295 runs at the Optus Stadium in Perth, the Asian powerhouses now have a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
The Prince has arrived! @ShubmanGill starts strong, bringing up a stylish half-century against Australia 🙌🏼#AUSvINDonStar Warm-up match 👉 LIVE NOW on Star Sports! #ToughestRivalry pic.twitter.com/Tl8S34j5zr
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 1, 2024
How did the warm-up match go for the Indian players?
After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma chose to bowl first. Sam Konstas gave the selectors yet another gentle reminder of his immense skill with a spectacular 107 off 97 balls as the Australians played an attacking style of cricket. It was entertaining to see Konstas and Jack Clayton (40), who combined for 109 off 103 balls, as the Indian bowlers found it difficult to hold them.
But Harshit Rana changed the tide of the match by taking four wickets in six deliveries. Hanno Jacobs, batting at number nine, bowled out the Prime Minister’s XI for 240 in 43.2 overs after scoring 61 off 60 balls.
In addition to Yashasvi and Shubman, Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy both made an impact at bat, scoring 42 runs each. The strike rates for the two all-rounders were 131.25 and 116.67, respectively. Sarfaraz Khan and Rohit, however, were sent off for receiving only ten points. After making 27 runs, Ravindra Jadeja looked excellent, but part-time batsman Matthew Renshaw eventually got rid of him.
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