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India chased down the 189-run target to beat England by 7 wickets in their first warm-up game at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai on Monday.
Batting first, England batters – Johnny Bairstow (49), Liam Livingstone (30) and Moeen Ali (43 not out) upped the pace. Bairstow was dismissed by a pinpoint yorker from Jaspit Bumrah after some big hits from Livingstone. Meanwhile, Ali smashed Bhuvneshwar Kumar for 21 runs in the final over and took England to a respectable total of 188/5.
In reply, Indian openers – KL Rahul (51 off 24 balls) and Ishan Kishan (70 off 46) – gave their team a flying start.
After the dismissal of Suryakumar Yadav in 18th over, it was Rishabh Pant 29(14) and Hardik Pandya 16(10) who finished the game in style.
Five England bowlers conceded more than 10-an-over, while the penultimate over bowled by Chris Jordan was hit for 23 runs with the match on the line.
Impressive batting performance 👌
Fine bowling display 👍#TeamIndia beat England & win their first warm-up game. 👏 👏#INDvENG #T20WorldCup📸: Getty Images pic.twitter.com/jIBgYFqOjz
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 18, 2021
Last-over drama saves Australia
Australia must thank Josh Inglis for their three-wicket win over New Zealand in Abu Dhabi. The Aussies needed eight runs from three deliveries when Inglis walked in to bat after the dismissal of Ashton Agar.
Inglis smoked consecutive fours off Kyle Jamieson to seal a win for his side with one ball to spare and three wickets in hand.
Earlier, Kane Richardson (3/24) and Adam Zampa (2/17) helped Australia in restricting New Zealand to 158/7. Four Kiwi batters crossed 30, but none could capitalize on the start they got. Kane Williamson was the top scorer with 37 from 30 deliveries.
Australia’s response, however, stuttered in the middle overs as Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis struggled to keep the required run rate down. But a late cameo from Mitchell Starc (138 off 9) and Inglis (8* off 2) took them home.
