WORLD T20 2016 WARM-UP

Rohit, spinners give India big win in warm-up

 BY SAMRAT RAI Kolkata, Last updated on Friday, 11 March, 2016, 12:16 AM

India added gloss to their tag of pre-tournament favourites with a 45-run victory © Getty

Rohit Sharma scored a blazing unbeaten 98 and four bowlers picked up two wickets each as India began their World T20 campaign with a convincing 45-run win over West Indies in a warm-up encounter at the raucous Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday (March 10).

Rohit, who bludgeoned nine fours and seven sixes in his 57-ball essay, shared an 89-run stand for the third wicket with Yuvraj Singh (31 off 20) to help the hosts notch up 185 on the board before the bowlers, led by Pawan Negi and Ravindra Jadeja - the two left-arm spinners - bowled West Indies out for 140 inside their quota of 20 overs. 

It was a warm-up game and the result counts for little at this time but the fixture served a timely reminder of where these teams are at the moment. India, already in the middle of a purple patch in T20Is, were able to keep their bench strength match-ready. Mohammed Shami, playing in an India shirt for the first time since the 2015 World Cup, and Negi, so often condemned to warming the benches, put in performances that added gloss to India's tag as pre-tournament favourites. West Indies, on the other hand, encountered familiar problems with bowling and playing spin. 

On a flat Eden wicket, one on which the captains - MS Dhoni and Darren Sammy - mutually agreed that India would bat first, the hosts got off to a rather sedate start.

Rohit, as he often does in limited-overs, began in rather tepid fashion. Dhawan was far more assured in an opening stand of 32. The left-hander, fresh from a half-century in the Asia Cup, helped himself to a flurry of well-timed boundaries even as his partner bided his time at the start of the innings. The duo added 32 runs inside five overs before the introduction of left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn accounted for Dhawan (21) 

A 20000-strong crowd at the Eden Gardens rose expectantly at the fall of the first wicket, hoping to catch star batsman Virat Kohli in action but this being a warm-up game, the Indian team management was more concerned about giving their fringe players a run. Ajinkya Rahane walked in at three and attempted to get going straight away, only to be beaten by Benn's turn and getting stumped. Rohit and new batsman Yuvraj Singh steadied the innings and by the half-way mark India reached 62 for 2. 

Rohit, who had meandered to 25 off 28 balls, suddenly turned a switch on. The carnage began early in the second half when off-spinner Ashley Nurse was brought into the attack. The youngster, called in to replace Sunil Narine, conceded 16, with Rohit peppering the mid-wicket boundary. When Andre Russell came back into the attack in the next over, he was slammed straight back over his head for a six. 

Russell followed that with a fuller delivery, Rohit simply walked across his stumps and lapped him over the short-fine fielder. 31 runs came of two overs as India rocketed to 93 in 12 overs with Rohit completing a 37-ball half-century. 

Sammy brought himself into the attack in the 13th over and should have had Yuvraj on 7, only for Nurse to grass a straight forward chance at deep mid-wicket. The flamboyant left-hander, unwilling to be left behind by Rohit's belligerence, then unfurled a succession of powerful drives and a monster straight six before falling for a 20-ball 31.

Ravindra Jadeja, Pawan Negi and Hardik Pandya were promoted up the order but couldn't make a significant mark on the innings. Rohit, on the other hand, powered into the 90s with a nonchalant flicked-six off Taylor before failing to score off the last two deliveries of the innings to remain unbeaten, two short of a century.

West Indies had reason to believe that they could hunt down 185. It was a flat wicket and openers Chris Gayle and Johnson Charles had added 26 off the first two overs of the chase bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin and Harbhajan Singh. Jasprit Bumrah, Dhoni's go-to man, cleaned Gayle up with a skiddy inswinger, giving India a much-needed opening. Shami then forced Charles to edge one to the keeper bringing in two new batsmen to the crease simultaneously.

It was the perfect setup for Dhoni to employ his classic choke by spin. Negi and Jadeja bowled out their spells in one go conceding just 41 from their 8 overs while returning two wickets apiece. Jadeja's surprise round-arm deliveries proved too hard for West Indies to get away while Negi was generous in his use of flight and got significant purchase off the wicket. 

By the 13th over, West Indies had slipped from 36 for 1 to 84 for 6 with India's outfielding, particularly that of Rahane (four catches) functioning in top gear. Shami returned for a second spell and accounted for Ashley Nurse while Pandya got amongst the wickets as well to send West Indies hurtling towards an inconsequential but an eye-opening defeat. 

Brief Scores: India 185/6 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 98*, Yuvraj Singh 31; Jerome Taylor 2-26) beat West Indies 140 in 19.2 overs (Chris Gayle 20; Pawan Negi 2-15, Ravindra Jadeja 2-26) by 45 runs