Canberra: A confident fightback from two young batsmen jostling for the same spot in the Test line-up, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, steadied the Indian innings after it had slumped to 84 for 4 against the Cricket Australia Chairman’s XI in Canberra.
The Indian batting had struggled on a damp surface after two rain intervals, but Kohli and Rohit's 78-run partnership meant the visitors took some positives from a truncated first day's play.
Having opted to bat in their second and final tour match before the Boxing Day Test on December 26, the Indian top order came undone against the CA Chairman's XI pace attack. A soggy outfield following overnight rain delayed the proceedings until after lunch, and early into their innings the Indians lost Virender Sehwag for 12, edging Peter George to gully where Alex Doolan picked up a smart low catch.
Having resumed on 51 for 1 after 16 overs following a rain delay, the visitors were again ushered off the field as bad light held up play. Upon resumption a second time, it was bad news for the Indians as Ajinkya Rahane (15) edged Josh Lalor to slip where Usman Khawaja held a smart catch. Soon after, an unconvincing Gautam Gambhir – who had played and missed several times and struck on the fingers by fast bowler Jason Behrendorff – missed a straight delivery from the same bowler and was bowled for 24. That left the score at 53 for 3, with two
10:55 PM, Mar 31, 2008
