India 257 for 5 (Gill 50, Jaiswal 45, Reddy 42, Washington 42*, Anderson 2-30) vs Prime Minister’s XI 240 (Konstas 107, Jacobs 61, Rana 4-44)
India got what they wanted out of their only pink-ball tour game ahead of the day-night Test in Adelaide and maybe something they didn’t. Yashasvi Jaiswal spent the time leading up to his wicket worried by his lower back, repeatedly stretching it and receiving some attention to it from the physio. He did bat through for 10 more balls after requiring help from the dugout, and looked comfortable enough, until he fell attempting a big shot. At that point, the focus that was on him shifted back to two team-mates who seem likely to take back their place in the XI.
Rohit Sharma, back from paternity leave, began the day getting used to the rhythms of cricket again in Canberra. At the fall of the first Prime Minister’s XI’s wicket, he leapt up in delight. In between balls, he was catching up with a bit of chit chat. Occasionally he had to swat a fly, and Sarfaraz Khan, who took over wicketkeeping duties and fumbled his first take. At the change of the innings, Rohit had a pretty big thing to get used to. Sitting around. India stuck with the opening combination that worked for them in the first Test, and Rohit slotted in at No. 4.
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For the Prime Minister’s XI, the brightest performer was Sam Konstas. The 19-year-old scored a century that several will take note of, given, for a little while, he seemed to be the frontrunner to open the batting for Australia in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Several would have also been taking notes on Rohit. There was a time when he was at peace with the possibility of his red-ball career never really taking off. Then, after nearly a year out of the team, he was called up for a home series against South Africa in 2019, opened the batting, scored two centuries and a double as well in his first four innings back and a corner had been turned. His excellence against England, particularly on tour in 2021, highlighted how well he had strengthened his defensive game and over the 11 balls that he played at Manuka Oval, he was searching for something resembling that form.
Rohit began his innings with a leave. He protected his stumps well. He was even watchful when the PM’s XI banged the ball in short. But then, after resisting the urge to drive one sucker ball outside off stump, he went driving at another and got caught at first slip for 3. Rohit has opened the batting ever since his comeback five years ago (so long as he was available). In the home season before India flew to Australia, he seemed preoccupied with trying to get all the runs he could before the ball with his name on it came on series that were largely played on bowler-friendly pitches. The season yielded him only one score over 25 in ten innings. Here, in Canberra, he was slightly more circumspect.
Shubman Gill, who looked ready to play this game when he trained for it two days ago, got a good hit out in the middle and he remains an absolute menace whenever he is able to go on the back foot. That trademark short-arm pull in front of midwicket, against Mahli Beardman in the 18th over, got his innings going. But there were other moments, when he was driving on the up and away from the body, that he looked a little vulnerable. In the 23rd over, against Charlie Anderson – who picked up two wickets – he got an edge that went for four. Gill made a 62-ball fifty and retired.
India chose to bowl in a game curtailed to 46 overs each by rain, presumably because they wanted to bat during twilight, and both KL Rahul and Jaiswal enjoyed a first-hand account of a period that is often lethal for batters, even in the hands of Jack Nisbet, a 21-year-old who is at present the joint-48th highest-wicket taker in the Sheffield Shield this season. Jaiswal got 12 of his first 14 runs with his outside edge. Each time – even if the pink ball went to the boundary – he was unprepared for the amount of movement it was capable of.
Rahul did not attempt any of the extravagant shots that his partner was trying, but he too had moments where he came off second best, particularly in the third over against Scott Boland, whose habit of never giving up the stumps along with getting just enough nip off the seam makes him the ideal candidate for these conditions. He got one to leap past the closed face of Rahul’s bat as he attempted to play the angle into him and was beaten on the leading edge.
This was the kind of prep India were looking for; the situation that they were hoping to be in at the start of the day, and they tightened up. Jaiswal left four successive deliveries in the eighth over, and got behind the other two. Rahul continues to be impressive at reading the line of the ball, which informs his decision to play the ball or not, and that technique where he brings the bat down but takes great pains never to follow the ball worked for him once again. He played some crisp shots, always waiting for the ball until it was right under his eyes, the best of them a perfectly balanced, back-foot punch through cover. This was reward for him getting through that initial tough period with the pink ball around sunset. Soon after, the movement died down. He’d cleared the danger and with others needing game time retired out.
India’s win in Perth – which was built partly on Rahul and Jaiswal at Nos. 1 and 2 exceeding all expectations – and the anticipation that the new pink ball will present a serious challenge must be part of the discussions as they prepare for the Adelaide Test on Friday. Is the preservation of their partnership a sign? This was only a practice match, with absolutely no stakes, and the head coach Gautam Gambhir isn’t with the team just yet, so the decisions taken here may not be what will be taken in a week’s time. India land in Adelaide on Monday and begin their prep work again on Tuesday.
On the other side, Konstas offered a reminder that he has a lot of shot-making ability, a reverse-ramp off Akash Deep in the 14th over making that perfectly clear. And the experience of facing an international bowling attack will only help his growth as he looks to back up his achievements at the Under-19 level.
Konstas made 107 off just 97 balls and, though some of those runs did come with slogs, there was plenty of evidence that there is a player in there. He was able to step out to Mohammed Siraj and slap him down the ground. He tried the same to Harshit Rana and was sent ducking for cover, but later, when Rana dug it in short again, Konstas shifted his weight back beautifully and hooked him for six, the ball almost threatening the pristineness of the Jack Fingleton scoreboard. He didn’t back down.
Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin played no part in the game, which played a part in some of the 5234 people at Manuka Oval leaving a little early.
