India vs Western Australia XI HIGHLIGHTS T20 World Cup practice: IND loses to WA by 36 runs, KL Rahul hits slow 74

A 36-run defeat as two wickets fall off the last two deliveries. A scrappy match for India on the whole. On to the Gabba on the 17th, where India will face Australia in the first T20 World Cup warm-up match.

That’s that then? KL Rahul falls for 74 off 65 balls as Tye strikes for WA XI.

KL Rahul crawls to a slow half-century off 44 balls. India’s chase seems a bit out of hand as of now. Can KL and Karthik unleash the big hits now?

McKenzie removes Hardik after conceding a SIX. India in a spot of bother at 58/3 in 9.2 overs.

Hardik hammers Morris for a SIX and brings up the 50 in nine overs.

Lance Morris dismisses Deepak Hooda for 6 in his first over. A tricky chase this for India so far. IND 33/2 in 7 overs.

Rishabh Pant falls for 9, yet another failure at the top of the order. Behrendorff’s superb spell finally rewards him with a wicket. Deepak Hooda in at 3.

KL Rahul plays out a maiden over against Behrendorff at the start of the chase.

KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant walk out for India in its 169-run chase.

15 runs off the final over from Harshal and Western Australia close at a decent 168 for eight in 20 overs.

Ashwin gets TWO in TWO! Cleans up Ashton Turner for 2 and then traps Fanning lbw first ball. Make that THREE! Ashwin gets Bancroft caught behind with Karthik completing the catch.

Hobson’s onslaught ends as Harshal strikes for India. He falls for 64 off 41 balls.

D’Arcy Short brings up his half-century. Short and Hobson have completely flattened the Indian attack that has constantly shuffled its bowlers.

FIFTY for Nick Hobson as WA XI moves past 100.

Arshdeep to Philippe, OUT! Arshdeep strikes again in his first over!

D’Arcy Short and Josh Philippe open for WA XI. Virat Kohli is seen fielding in the slip cordon even while he is not part of the Indian XI. Bhuvneshwar takes the new ball.

India wins toss, to bowl

India XI: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul (c), Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh

WA XI: Ashton Turner (c), Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Sam Fanning, Nick Hobson, Matt Kelly, Hamish McKenzie, Lance Morris, Josh Philippe, D’Arcy Short, Andrew Tye

KL Rahul to lead India. Rohit Sharma is in the XI and Virat Kohli is rested again. Is that surprising?

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have never played as No. 1, 2 and 3 together in a T20 match in Australia. Would we finally be seeing India’s proper XI in action today?

In the latest Wednesdays with WV episode, WV Raman and former India bowling coach discuss various aspects of bowling injuries, India’s T20 World Cup hopes and more.

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Western Australia: Ashton Turner (c), Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Sam Fanning, Nick Hobson, Matt Kelly, Hamish McKenzie, David Moody, Lance Morris, Josh Philippe, D’Arcy Short, Andrew Tye

India: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh. Standby Players: Mohammad Shami, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar.

Team India is set for its second practice match at the WACA in Perth as it takes on Western XI on Thursday.

Rohit Sharma’s men were off to a scratchy start in their first game at the venue with the skipper and the top-order failing to fire. In the absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, India tested out Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda up top alongside Rohit Sharma. With three quick wickets seeing the trio off, it was once again down to Suryakumar Yadav to lift the side to a decent total. Suryakumar’s half-century, coupled with a cameo from Hardik Pandya helped India reach 158 for six in 20 overs.

In a refreshing start with the ball, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh made the PowerPlay their own with four wickets inside the first six. While WA XI’s Sam Fanning threatened a comeback with his half-century, Arshdeep and Bhuvneshwar returned to ensure the target was a little out of their reach towards the end.

Western Australia has made two changes to their squad for the game. Lance Morris, considered to be one of the quickest bowlers in Australia, will most likely go up against the famed Indian top-order and that could be an interesting test for the Indians ahead of the T20 World Cup.

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