Virat Kohli scores 60 as Indian batsmen shine in drawn game

Adelaide, Nov 25: India made a positive start to their tour of Australia after rounding off the practice game against Cricket Australia XI with an allround performance as the two-day match ended in a draw here today.

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At the Gliderol Stadium, the visitors finished at 363/8 declared after 91 overs in reply to the hosts' first-day total of 219 all out. (Full list of India's Test captains)

After the Indian bowlers, led by Varun Aaron, made full use of the seamer-friendly conditions, it was the turn of their batsmen to get in some good batting practice and get versed with the conditions on offer ahead of the four-Test series starting in Brisbane on December 4.

Skipper Virat Kohli top-scored on the day with 60 runs, while Murali Vijay (51), Cheteshwar Pujara (55), Wriddhiman Saha (56 not out) and Karn Sharma (55 not out) scored half-centuries. Suresh Raina (44) and Rohit Sharma (23) were also among runs.

The day began with Vijay and Pujara at the crease and they were intent on making good use of the conditions. They batted without any discomfort and duly notched up their half-centuries in good time, in total putting on 85 runs for the second wicket.

Both batsmen retired after getting their respective fifties. Ajinkya Rahane (1) was the only frontline batsman to have missed out on the day, as he was dismissed by 16-year-old Sam Grimwade, thanks to a diving low catch at mid-off by Ryan Carters.

Sharma then came to the crease and added 47 runs with Kohli before lunch but he fell just before the break. After lunch, Kohli and Raina batted with ease and pushed the score past the hosts' first innings total.

PTI