Dubai, Oct 18: KL Rahul’s brutal yet elegant fifty sealed the second opener’s debate while his opening partner Ishan Kishan also grabbed the opportunity as India warmed-up nicely with a seven-wicket win over England in the opening practice match ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Rahul made batting look easy with six boundaries and three sixes in his 24-ball-51 while Kishan was retired hurt after a chiselled 70 off 46 balls that had three sixes apart from seven boundaries as India chased a target of 189 with an over to spare.
In a game where result was secondary, Rahul’s touch would have certainly made skipper Virat Kohli pleased as punch as he hit some breathtaking sixes off Chris Woakes and also treated Mark Wood with disdain.
Kishan did his case no harm once Rahul was gone as he punished the spinners, including a dazzling six, coming down the track off Adil Rashid.
India in the first game ticked some boxes that includes two senior pacers Jasprit Bumrah (1/26) and Mohammed Shami (3/40) hitting the straps straightaway with some fast and accurate deliveries.
The third angle to this ‘triangle’ – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, however, consistently missed the length giving away 54 runs in four overs.
Rishabh Pant (29*) smashed the bowlers. Hardik Pandya, who is supposed to be the “designated finisher” in this line-up, came to the crease with 21 needed off 15 balls and he hit a few streaky shots in his 16 not out in 10 balls.
The England batters also threw their willows around to get some quality time in the middle on a good surface at the ICC Academy ground here after being put in to bat.
Veteran Shami bowled the fuller lengths and also mixed it with clever variations as he got the wickets of openers Jason Roy (17), Jos Buttler (18) and Liam Livingstone (30).
Buttler was done in by change of pace where the length was slightly shortened and pace taken off after being hit for two boundaries, while Livingstone was castled by an old-fashioned yorker.
Bumrah bowled an unplayable yorker to prevent Jonny Bairstow (49 off 36 balls) from getting a half-century. He was easily India’s best bowler on view while Bhuvneshwar looked a bit out of place.
Moeen Ali (43* off 20 balls), fresh from his IPL exploits, beefed up England’s score in the final over. (PTI)
