Canberra, December 1
Following his side's victory over the Prime Ministers' XI in the pink-ball warm-up match, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma expressed satisfaction with his team's performance, stating that they achieved their objectives as a unit.
A four-wicket haul by pacer Harshit Rana, along with commanding knocks from Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, helped India secure a five-wicket win against Australia's Prime Ministers' XI at Canberra's Manuka Oval on Sunday.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rohit also expressed gratitude towards the crowd for their support.
"It was fantastic (the match and the win). We got what we wanted as a group. It was a bit unfortunate that we couldn't play the entire game, but we made the most of the time we had. Absolutely fantastic (to see the crowd). We love coming to Australia, and it's always great to see fans turn up to support us. There's never been a time when they haven't shown up. It's really nice to see people coming out and cheering for us," he said.
The match, originally scheduled as a two-day affair, was reduced to a 46-overs-per-side contest due to rain on Saturday and Sunday.
India won the toss and chose to field first. A magnificent and resilient century by U19 batting sensation Sam Konstas (107 off 97 balls, including 14 fours and a six) and a late surge from Hanno Jacobs (61 off 60 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) propelled the hosts to 240 in 43.2 overs.
Harshit Rana (4/44) was India's standout bowler, dismantling the middle order during his six-over spell. Akash Deep picked up two wickets, while Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Prasidh Krishna claimed one wicket each.
In the run chase, openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (45 off 59 balls, including nine fours) and KL Rahul (27 off 44 balls, including four boundaries) gave India a solid start with a 75-run partnership, though Rahul retired hurt. After skipper Rohit Sharma was dismissed for just three, Shubman Gill (50 off 62 balls, including seven fours) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (42 off 32 balls, including five fours and a six) dominated the Australian bowling attack. Contributions from Washington Sundar (42* off 36 balls, including five fours) and Ravindra Jadeja (27 off 31 balls, including three fours) guided India to a total of 257/5 in their 46 overs.
Charlie Anderson (2/30) was the most effective bowler for Australia's PM XI.
Sam Konstas was named 'Player of the Match' for his outstanding century.