Canberra (Australia): The Indian cricket team is taking on Australia's Prime Minister XI in the warm-up match at the Manuka Oval Stadium here on Sunday, December 1, 2024. Among the notable things, all eyes were on two things before the start of the tour game - First, captain Rohit Sharma's batting performance and second, whether India's spin-twin Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja would bowl or not.
Originally the warm-up match was a two-day affair, but after Day 1 was washed out due to rain, the Indian team asked to play a 50-over game. However, due to rain, the match was further reduced to 46 overs. Notably, this game doesn't have first-class status. This game is crucial considering India's preparations for the Pink Ball Test scheduled to be played at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide from December 6, 2024.
PM XI are all out for 240 runs.
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 1, 2024
Harshit Rana picks up four wickets, Akash Deep with two and Siraj, Prasidh, Washington and Jadeja pick a wicket each. pic.twitter.com/a2YxKXhn19
Seasoned campaigners Ashwin and Jadeja were not included in India's playing XI for the Perth Test against Australia as Washington Sunder was preferred over them after his stunning performance in home Tests against New Zealand. Sunder scored 33 (4, 29) runs with the bat and picked up two wickets in 17 (2, 15) overs he bowled across two innings. Conversely, Rohit missed the first Test as he was on personal leave.
India started with pacers Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep, who gave the visitors a brilliant start. Siraj removed Matt Renshaw (5), while Akash Deep dismissed Jayden Goodwin (4). Harshit Rana then ripped apart Australia's PM XI middle order, taking four wickets while Prasidh Krishna bowled one.
Washington Sunder in a 50-over tour game. He bowled 6.2 overs, conceded 38 runs, and picked up a wicket off dangerous looking Hanno Jacobs. The 35th over of Australia's innings marked Jadeja's first over. Jadeja bowled five consecutive overs, conceded 32 runs and picked up a wicket off Jack Nisbet (11 off 16 balls).
However, Ravichandran Ashwin didn't bowl a single over and was not seen on the field during the whole Australia innings. This can be a sign that Ashwin is not being considered to feature in the Pink-ball Test or maybe the four remaining test series, while there could be a battle between Sunder and Jadeja for the spin-bowling all-rounder spot.
