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A fine fifty from Gill, and composed innings from Jaiswal, Nitish Reddy and Rahul helped India, who batted till the end for some extra practice with the pink ball, clinch the win by 6 wickets.
Shubman Gill scored an unbeaten 50 after which he retired (X)
It was a walk in the park for India who were bolstered by a fine fifty from Shubman Gill as the visitors sealed a comfortable 6-wicket win over the PM XI, and batted till the end of the innings for some extra practice on Sunday.
India opted to bowl first and Mohammed Siraj landed an early blow when he got rid of PM XI opener Matt Renshaw on five.
After Day 1’s play on Saturday got washed out due to rain, both teams agreed to play a 50 overs-per-side contest.
Sam Konstas scored a superb century and was well supported by Hanno Jacobs who scored a half-century as PM’s XI were bowled out for 240 in 43.2 overs, setting a target of 241 for India.
For India, Harshit Rana was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4/44 while Akash Deep chipped in with a couple of wickets.
With a target of 241 to chase in 46 overs, India started off delightfully with the bat, as the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul elegantly drove at will to notch up the fifty partnership with ease.
It would be 19-year-old Charlie Anderson who would finally find the breakthrough to remove the swashbuckling Jaiswal for 45 runs, depriving him of a half-century, following which KL Rahul would retire to make way for skipper Rohit Sharma.
Both Rohit and Shubman Gill, both absentees in the first Test against Australia, were at the crease, as the crowds roared for the return of the batters.
Rohit’s return to action though would be short-lived as the skipper would depart for a measly 3 runs, as India would fall to 90/2 in the 21st over.
But, Gill would show up and show out with the bat, as he skillfully played his way to a fine fifty, after which he retired, making way for Washington Sundar.
Gill’s compatriot Nitish Reddy would fall short of his fifty, as Lloyd Pope would bowl him out for 42 runs, introducing Ravindra Jadeja to the crease.
Jadeja would bring stability to the ranks again. But, with five overs to go and India needing 22 runs to win, part-time bowler Matt Renshaw would add one last twist to the tale by removing the off-spinner from the crease.
But, Washington Sundar would go on the attack, punishing Jack Nisbet for a couple of fours in the very next over to ease the pressure, as India would eventually seal the deal by the 43rd over to seal a 6-wicket win.
The Indians though would opt to continue to bat through the rest of the overs, putting up 257 runs in the 46 total overs. in order to get some extra practice ahead of their pink-ball Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
