Team India middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan was involved in a hilarious incident during the warm-up match against Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Sarfaraz Khan loudly appealed despite the ball clearly hitting the center of the bat and was surprised when no teammates had appealed.
The first day of the warm-up match was washed out due to rain. The match was rescheduled to 50-overs-per-side on Day 2, Sunday, December 1. India won the toss and chose to bowl first at Manuka Oval. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who joined the team during the Perth Test, will get valuable match practice.
Watch: Sarfaraz Khan’s Comical Appeal During IND vs PM XI Clash
During the fifth ball of the 29th over in the Prime Minister’s XI innings, Sarfaraz Khan made a comical appeal after the ball clearly hit the center of the bat. Hanno Jacobs defended the ball before deflecting it from hitting the stumps. Sarfaraz appealed but was confused when no one else joined in the appeal.
— Kaushik Kashyap (@CricKaushik_) December 1, 2024
Sarfaraz Khan Not Included in India’s Playing XI for Perth Test Match
Sarfaraz Khan replaced Rishabh Pant as a substitute wicketkeeper for India. It’s worth noting that India has two wicketkeeper batters in their squad, Pant and Dhruv Jurel. In the first Test match against Australia in Perth, Jurel played as a specialist batter, while Sarfaraz did not make it into the playing XI.
Mohammed Siraj provided India with an excellent start in the pink-ball warm-up game. The Indian bowlers restricted the Prime Minister’s XI to 138/7, with Harshit Rana taking four wickets for 44 runs. However, Sam Konstas and Hanno Jacobs helped PM XI cross 200 runs without losing any more wickets.
India Bowled Out for 36 Runs in Their Last Pink-Ball Test in Australia
India suffered one of the most crushing defeats in Test cricket history during the 2020 Pink Ball Test vs Australia at Adelaide. India’s then-captain Virat Kohli scored 74 runs as the team posted a total of 244 runs in their first innings. Australia bowled India out for 191 runs with help from Tim Paine’s 73 runs.
However, India suffered a dramatic collapse in their second innings on Day 3. They were bowled out for just 36 runs, their lowest-ever total in Test cricket. Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were the architects of this collapse, taking nine wickets between them. Australia easily chased down the 90-run target.
India started the five-match Test series with a dominant 295-run victory in the opening match. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli both scored centuries, while stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill missed the first Test due to personal reasons and injury, respectively.
Both players will look to get some game time in the warm-up match against the Australia PM XI before the Pink-ball Test, which is scheduled to be played in Adelaide from Friday, December 6.
Also read: Suryakumar Yadav’s comeback confirmed ahead of IND vs AUS Adelaide Test