Indian batters and bowlers got a decent enough workout in the middle before their three-day warm-up match in Durham against the County Select XI ended in a draw this Thursday.
Having rested multiple of their first-choice picks, including skipper Virat Kohli, the tourists got the chance to assess their preparations for the forthcoming Test series against England.
A reassuring unbeaten century from wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul (101* retired) was the headlining aspect of the Indian innings on Day 1, where they opted to bat first upon winning the toss. Rahul, who is being seen as a middle-order candidate for this trip, produced a morale-boosting knock from a slightly precarious situation.
Walking into bat with Indians 67/3, Rahul batted brilliantly against the home team’s pacers and spinners in difficult conditions and pressed his case for selection during the Test matches, starting August 4. Rahul’s stay of 150 balls at the crease included 11 fours and 1 six before he was retired out.
With vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane not playing the game, Ravindra Jadeja got the chance to bat two spots higher in the batting unit and made excellent use of the opportunity. Jadeja produced two solid half-centuries in either innings (75 off 146 balls & 51 retired out off 77 balls) to reinforce why he is such an improved all-conditions batsman.
Jadeja was tested more for the first of those scores on the opening day, where he also stitched a fantastic 127-run fifth-wicket partnership with Rahul. The duo helped Indians reach a score past the 300-mark even as the rest of the batsmen couldn’t quite get going.
Mayank Agarwal (28), Cheteshwar Pujara (21) and Hanuma Vihari (24) made decent starts but didn’t continue to play any substantial knock. However, the three batsmen still got enough game time out of the match, making scores of 47, 38 and 43, respectively, in the second innings while facing a lot of deliveries during their stay.
Stand-in captain Rohit Sharma was the only one to miss out on ample enough match practise as he batted just 33 balls for his 9 on Day 1 and opted not to bat on Day 3.
On the bowling front, with Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin rested, India had Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur delivering multiple spells on Day 2. While Umesh bagged three wickets to end with stand-out figures of 3/29 off his 15 overs, Siraj (2/32 off 13 overs), Bumrah (1/29 off 15 overs) and Thakur (1/31 off 14 overs) also build up quite nicely for the real challenge.
With spinners Jadeja (1/55) and Axar Patel (1/41) also taking a wicket apiece, the Indians were able to bowl the opposition out for a score of 220, which they also reached only because of a fighting century from youngster Haseeb Hameed.
Hameed, who has been a rejuvenated batsman this summer, batted 246 balls for his superb knock of 112. Only one other batsman from the County Select XI batted more than 50 balls, and only one other reached the 30-run mark off his willow.
Having stretched their 91-run first-innings lead into an impregnable target of 284 with hardly much time left in the game, the Indians had their pacers adding one more spell to their kitties before the two teams shook hands to conclude the fixture. While Bumrah and Thakur bowled five overs each, Siraj and Umesh delivered nearly three overs apiece. Hameed (13*), along with fellow opener Jake Libby (17*), spent some extra time in the middle.
Brief scores
Indians 311 (KL Rahul 101, Ravindra Jadeja 75; Craig Miles 4/45, Lyndon James 2/32) and 192/3 decl. (Ravindra Jadeja 51, Hanuma Vihari 43; Jack Carson 2/64, Lyndon James 0/22) drew with County Select XI 220 (Haseeb Hameed 112, Liam White 33; Umesh Yadav 3-22, Mohammed Siraj 2/32) and 31/0 (Jake Libby 17*, Haseeb Hameed 13*; Mohammed Siraj 0/4)
