Team India’s middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan was involved in a funny incident during a warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI at Manuka Oval in Canberra. Sarfaraz Khan appealed loudly despite the ball hitting the middle of the bat and was surprised when none of his teammates did.
The first warm-up match was washed out due to rain. The match was changed to 50 overs on Day 2, Sunday, December 1. India won the toss and elected to ball first at Manuka Oval. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who joined the team during the Perth Test, will gain valuable match experience.
Watch: Sarfaraz Khan’s Comical Address During IND vs PM XI Clash
During the fifth ball of the 29th in the Prime Minister’s 11th over, Sarfaraz Khan made a comic appeal after the ball hit the center of the bat squarely. Hanno Jacobs defended before deflecting the ball before it hit the stumps. Sarfaraz filed an appeal but was surprised when no one else joined the appeal.
🤣😠pic.twitter.com/N0BQcNSIFC
— Kaushik Kashyap (@CricKaushik_) December 1, 2024
Sarfaraz Khan is not included in India’s playing XI for the Perth Test Match
Sarfaraz Khan replaced Rishabh Pant as India’s wicketkeeper. It should be noted that India has two goalkeepers named Pant and Dhruv Jurel. In the first Test match against Australia in Perth, Jurel played as a specialist batsman while Sarfaraz failed to make the XI.
Mohammed Siraj got India off to a great start in the warm-up game with the pink ball. 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 pass 200 runs without losing more wickets.
India scored 36 runs in the last pink ball Test in Australia
India suffered one of the most crushing defeats in the history of Test cricket during the 2020 Pink Ball Test against Australia in Adelaide. The then Indian captain Virat Kohli scored 74 runs as the team posted a total of 244 runs in their first innings. Australia beat India by 191 runs with the help of 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, the lowest in Test cricket. Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were the architects of that collapse, taking nine wickets between them. Australia easily chased down the 90 run target.
India began 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 scored five. 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 a warm-up match against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI ahead of the Pink-ball Test scheduled to be held in Adelaide from December 6.
Also read: Suryakumar Yadav’s comeback confirmed ahead of IND vs AUS Adelaide Test
