IND vs Aus: Western Australia stun India in practice match, win by 32 runs

KL Rahuls knock went in vain as Western Australia stunned India with a 32run victory in the second practice match in Perth on ThursdayWestern Australia posted 1688 in their 20 overs owing to gritty halfcenturies by Nick Hobson and DArcy Short Ashwins threewicket haul helped India restrict Western Australias flow of runs after the team had a blistering start to their inningsIndia started the chase watchfully with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant trying to see off the initial swing and seam of the new ball Pacers Jason Behrendorff and Matthew Kelly stuck to their line and lengthsBoth the bowlers bowled with great control and kept asking questions with the ball forcing the batters to play cautiously Pant tried to break the shackles but perished in the attempt to do so Behrendorff dismissed him in the fifth over for 9 which came off 11 ballsDeepak Hooda was promoted up their order given his rich form in the limited opportunities he has got for the Indian team which also includes a T20I century against Ireland However the batter failed to make a mark and was sent back to the dressing room by Lance Morris for a paltry 69The Indian team was unable to exploit the fielding restrictions and ended the power play with 291Also Read T20 World Cup Standby pacer Deepak Chahar ruled outHardik Pandya walked in to bat at number four and immediately made an impact as the allrounder smashed two massive sixes within a quick space The batter however was not able to carry his innings forward and was sent packing by Hamish Mckenzie for 179Allrounder Axar Patel was sent ahead in the pursuit of some quick runs but the lefthander played a scratchy inning of 27 before bowing out to Morris in the 13th over leaving the team at 794 in the 13th overIndias recently designated finisher Dinesh Karthik then partnered with Rahul to take India beyond the 100run mark but was unable to close the match unlike the previous few matches where he hit the winning runs He was dismissed for 1014 in the 16th over leaving India struggling at 1076 at the end of the 16 oversThe men in blue needed 62 runs from the final four overs with Rahul still at the crease reaching his fifty in 43 balls with Harshal Patel joining him at the creaseRahul played some powerful shots in the latter part of his innings smashing 21 runs off the 17th over giving the team a glimmer of hope but was dismissed by Andrew Tye ending Indias hope of winning the match The opener was dismissed for 74 off 55 balls which included nine boundaries and two sixesIndia ended their inning at 1328 giving Western Australia a 32run winBrief Scores Western Australia 1688 Nick Hobson 64 DArcy Short 52 R Ashwin 332 India 1328 KL Rahul 74 Hardik Pandya 17 Lance Morris 223This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever