All-rounder Cameron Green has been ruled out of the ongoing tour game and has been replaced by Pat Rowe.
Our Bureau
Sydney
India won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia A in the three-day tour game here at Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday.Ajinkya Rahane will lead the Indian team in this game. Ahead of the much-anticipated four-match Test series between India and Australia, this game will serve a lot to the visiting squad before the real test begins.
The first match will be a day-night affair. Skipper Kohli will head back home after the first Test as he has been granted paternity leave by the BCCI.
Indian players haven’t played a Test series since returning from New Zealand earlier this year while their white-ball cricket started in the Indian Premier League. Indian pacers particularly Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami haven’t played the longest format of the game for over nine months and the tour game provides them with an opportunity to get into the routine.
Whereas Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Umesh Yadav, R Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha, however, had a good outing in the first tour game against Australia A last week.
Many of the Indian players do not have the experience of playing with the pink ball. They have only played one Test against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens last year.
On the other hand, Australia will have their own problems to solve in the absence of regular opener David Warner. Joe Burns has the support of a lot of people, but he himself would like to have a few runs next to his name in the lead up to the Test after scoring a combine four runs in both innings last game.
On Friday, Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who smashed his maiden half-century in cricket on Friday, made his pleasure known by sharing a quirky post.
Bumrah, who came out as a surprise package with the bat for the visitors, smashed 55 runs to revive India’s innings after the side had lost nine wickets for 123 runs. The right-handed pacer along with Mohammed Siraj (22) put on 71 for the last wicket as the visitors finished on 194.
Bumrah on Friday shared a picture of him hitting a glorious shot along with a saying “Try one new thing per day, they said”.
Bumrah, who is actually famous for his deadly yorkers, had a unique and new outing on the field when he whacked bowlers all around the park.
It was all about the Indian pace bowlers firing in unison. While Mohammad Shami and Navdeep Saini picked three wickets each, Bumrah backed up his maiden fifty with two wickets. Siraj also picked a wicket as he kept bowling a testing line.
For Australia A, skipper Alex Carey fought a lone battle as he finished with a 38-ball 32. But unfortunately for him, there was no support whatsoever from the other end as even all-rounder Cameron Green who hit a century in the last warm-up game had to be substituted after he was hit on the head by a straight drive from Bumrah.
No sooner did Jasprit Bumrah’s straight drive hit Australia A all-rounder Cameron Green on the head than non-striker Mohammed Siraj dropped his bat and rushed to check on the player. The all-rounder was bowling to Bumrah when the latter’s straight drive burst through his hands and struck him.
Siraj’s gesture has taken the internet by storm and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a picture in which Green can be seen on his knees after the fierce blow and Siraj standing next to him and checking on the Australian. “Non-striker batsman Mohd Siraj quickly rushed to check on Cameron Green, who got hit on the head by a Jasprit Bumrah straight drive,” the BCCI tweeted.
All-rounder Green has been ruled out of the ongoing tour game and has been replaced by Pat Rowe, according to a Fox Cricket report.
Cricket Australia said Green will continue to be monitored by medical staff and an update on his condition will be made on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Indian bowlers put up an inspired show to bring the visitors right back into the day-night warm-up game at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday after getting bundled out for 194.
It was all about the Indian pace bowlers firing in unison. While Mohammad Shami and Navdeep Saini picked three wickets each, Jasprit Bumrah backed up his maiden fifty with two wickets. Mohammed Siraj also picked a wicket as he kept bowling a testing line.
