Rohit Sharma hit a stunning 171 not out as India posted a highly competitive 309/3 in the first one-day international against Australia in Perth.
Sharma's knock came off just 163 balls and included seven sixes and 13 fours as part of a mammoth 207-run partnership with Virat Kohli, who contributed 91.
Australian debutants Joel Paris and Scott Boland struggled with the ball, as the hosts managed to take just three wickets from their 50 overs.
But Sharma's knock proved to be in vain, as Steve Smith and George Bailey hit centuries for Australia to secure the win.
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Australia vs. India, 1st ODI: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info and Preview
Jan 9, 2016
India's Virat Kohli plays a shot during the T20 cricket match between India and a Western Australian XI in Perth on January 8, 2016. AFP PHOTO / Greg WOOD
--IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE NO COMMERCIAL USE-- / AFP / GREG WOOD (Photo credit should read GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)
As the World Twenty20 tournament draws near, teams are trying to get as much preparation as they can, and this five-match one-day international series between Australia and India is a good way for these two teams to start gearing up for the competition.
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016
Time: 11:20 a.m. local (03:20 a.m. GMT)
Venue:Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth
Live Stream and TV Info: Channel Nine (Australia), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Super Sport (South Africa), Star Sports (India)
Weather: Overall, the forecast seems good, according to AccuWeather.com. Temperatures will be in the mid 20-degree Celsius range and a shower is possible, but it should not be so bad that the whole match is rained off.
Overview
The last time Australia and India played each other in Australia was in the 2015 World Cup semi-final. The Aussies came out on top with a 95-run victory as the visitors' batsmen failed to repeat their exploits from earlier in the series.
The squad India have sent to Australia is one made up of largely familiar faces, though they also have three uncapped players. Rishi Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh and Barinder Sran are three names that many people will be unfamiliar with.
Overall, Australia are very much the favourites. They come into this series on the back of a dominant showing against the West Indies in their Test series.
Australia also have a very good record against India at home. The hosts have won 31 of their 43 ODIs played in the country and have lost just 10. Since the start of 2010, they have lost to India just once in Australia in seven fixtures.
With players like David Warner and Aaron Finch, who can take the game away from the opposition in just a few overs, India’s bowlers will have to box clever. They might have to do so without the help of Mohammed Shami, who sustained an injury during their first warm-up match and was not named in the second on Saturday.
India won their first against a Western Australia XI by 74 runs with Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli both hitting half-centuries, but neither managed to get into double figures in the second fixture, which was still on the go at the time of writing.
Both of their warm-up fixtures were played at the same venue as the first ODI, so India's players should have familiarised themselves with the conditions.
These warm-up results don’t really tell you much about the state the team is in, though. That will only be revealed in the first fixture and with two monstrous batting lineups, it could be a humdinger.
Key players
Australia
David Warner comes into this series on the back of an unbeaten 122 off just 103, which he hit in the final Test against the West Indies. While bad weather ensured that match ended in a draw, Warner has clearly had some batting practice and will be key for Australia at the top of the order.
India
Virat Kohli averages 47.76 against Australia and just 41.33 in Australia. By his standards, these numbers are quite low and there is no doubt that the feisty batsman will have a point to prove after averaging only 36.64 in 2015.
Squads
Australia: David Warner, Aaron Finch, Steven Smith (capt), Shaun Marsh, George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade (wk), James Faulkner, Kane Richardson, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Joel Paris.
A cricket legend has paid homage to the sport's latest superstar.
Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar sent a gift to teenage sensation Pranav Dhanawade. Dhanawade famously smashed a mind-boggling 1,009 not out while playing for KC Gandhi School in Mumbai in early January.
It was the highest individual score ever hit in a recorded match by a long shot.
Tendulkar honoured Dhanawade by sending him a signed bat to mark the feat.
Indian Schoolboy Rewrites Record Books but Should We Believe the Hype?
Jan 5, 2016
Pranav Dhanawade, a 15-year-old opening batsman, who scored 1009 not out in a tournament recognized by the Mumbai Cricket Association shows a thumbs up gesture as he poses near the score board in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, Jan, 5, 2016. The Mumbai teenager has become the first batsman to score 1000 runs in an officially recognized innings. (AP Photo)
Indian teenager Pranav Dhanawade broke records and probably the scorers' pencils this week when he registered cricket's highest individual score during an inter-school game recently.
While this is clearly a remarkable achievement of skill, stamina and concentration—for the scorers as much as the batsman—the ensuing social media explosion and media attention has to be taken with a large pinch of salt considering the farcical nature of the match.
Especially, taking some pertinent information regarding the opposition's comparative strength...or lack of, into account.
Let's take a closer look at this undoubtedly impressive feat while adding a touch of context to the circumstances.
The previous record
Up until Monday, the 4 January 2016, Arthur Collins' innings of 628, made during a junior match for Clifton College in 1899, was the highest individual score in the history of cricket.
As reported in great detail by ESPNCricinfo here, this epic knock was made on an extremely small pitch and against weak opposition but, nevertheless, was still a considerable achievement.
The record incredibly survived for more than a 116 years until the 15-year-old Dhanawade walked to the crease in Mumbai recently.
Congrats #PranavDhanawade on being the first ever to score 1000 runs in an innings. Well done and work hard. You need to scale new peaks!
Dhanawade's herculean innings was achieved in an inter-school, two-day match between Arya Gurukul and KC Ghandi English School and was part of a Mumbai Cricket Board-sanctioned competition for Under-16 cricketers.
After dismissing Arya Gurukul for just 31, KC Ghandi English School, who actually lost the toss, went out to bat, hoping to rack up a significant first-innings lead.
And sure enough, 94 overs and 1,465 Dhanawade-inspired runs later, the KC Ghandi leadership team finally decided enough was enough and declared. Happy with a 1,434-run lead, skipper?
Clearly the track had begun to disintegrate by then as Arya Gurukul were dismissed for just 52 runs in 14.5 overs to lose by the small matter of an innings and 1,382 runs.
A confidence-crushing result which probably sent 11 schoolkids into early cricketing retirement.
Spirit of cricket anyone? Check out the incredible/ludicrous scorecard.
The statistics
Generally speaking, a decent strike rate in Twenty20 cricket can be anything over 130 runs scored per 100 balls faced—Chris Gayle's is 149.33.
Mumbai schoolboy Pranav Dhanawade, 15, runs between the wickets as he smashed a 117-year-old record for the highest number of runs scored in one innings in Mumbai on January 5, 2016. A Mumbai schoolboy made history on January 5 when he became the first ba
However, Dhanawade, whose previous highest score was 80-something, blasted his runs at a rate of 312.38. Err...when's the next Indian Premier League auction?
The 15-year-old was at the crease for 395 minutes (just under seven hours) and smashed 59 sixes and 129 fours over and past the, no doubt, dispirited fielders.
And spare a thought for the lads who had to bowl and, consequently, collected bowling figures that will haunt them for years to come.
Ayush Dubey was the pick of the bunch with his haul of two scalps for just 352 runs while Tejas Missar deserves special mention for his 36 balls which yielded 142 runs.
The pitch
Unsurprisingly a small playing surface at the ground, which is situated in a northern suburb of Mumbai, helped to fuel Dhanawade's relentless effort.
Nestling between two housing complexes, the ground - with a typically muddy Mumbai pitch - is rectangular with extremely short, walled-in square boundaries. Abhishek Karane, a BCCI umpire who was at the match, said it was 110 metres in breadth and 135 metres long but the straight boundaries had been pulled in. Dhanawade targeted the shorter square boundaries, especially on the legside.
Fifty metres isn't a great distance to hit a hard, leather cricket ball, but the fact that the teenager managed to clear the ropes on 59 occasions showed impressive strength.
The opposition
However, here is where things get more interesting.
Mumbai schoolboy Pranav Dhanawade (C), 15, hits a shot as he smashed a 117-year-old record for the highest number of runs scored in one innings in Mumbai on January 5, 2016. A Mumbai schoolboy made history on January 5 when he became the first batsman in
As reported by Andy Bull in the Guardian, the opposition who endured such a frightful beating were predominantly from the Under-14s and not the Under-16s, thus, two years younger than Dhanawade's side.
Allegedly, the Arya Gurukul headmaster refused permission for most of his school's regular U16 players to play as they were revising for their exams.
Thus, although it wasn't exactly men against boys, bigger boys against smaller boys would be a fairly accurate comparison.
And most people who played sport in their school days will probably remember how difficult it was when facing the "giants" from the year above, never mind two years above!
The summary
Mumbai schoolboy Pranav Dhanawade (C), 15, is carried as he celebrates smashing a 117-year-old record for the highest number of runs scored in one innings in Mumbai on January 5, 2016. A Mumbai schoolboy made history on January 5 when he became the first
But seriously, not to take anything away from Dhanawade as this was truly a staggering effort regardless of the opposition; however, it's worth keeping a touch of perspective on the youngster's achievement as much for his sake as anything else.
Every few years, a young batsman makes a monumental score (OK, not necessarily a quadruple-figure one) and grabs some headlines. See Armaan Jaffer and Prithvi Shaw. Only for the added attention and exposure to prove detrimental to their development.
Fingers crossed, this won't affect the 15-year-old Dhanawade and he can go on to fulfil his dream of becoming a professional cricketer.
If not, at the very least, he'll surely be a record holder for some years to come.
Ravindra Jadeja Takes 5-30 as India Bowl South Africa out for 121 in 4th Test
Dec 4, 2015
Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja, right, is hugged by team captain Virat Kohli after he took the wicket of South African batsman Dane Piedt, on the second day of the fourth test match between the two countries, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Dec. 4, 2015. (AP Photo /Tsering Topgyal)
A five-wicket haul for Ravindra Jadeja helped India skittle South Africa for 121 on the second day of the fourth Test in Delhi on Friday.
Jadeja's 5-30 left the tourists 213 runs short of India's first innings total and facing the daunting prospect of following on.
5 wicket haul for Jadeja, what a season he is having! #INDvSA
AB de Villiers was the only South Africa batsman to provide any resistance, making 42 before holing out to a fine catch by Ishant Sharma on the boundary.
India already hold an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the final Test of the series and will be looking to emphasise their superiority when play resumes on Saturday.
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Ajinkya Rahane Hits 127 as India Make 334 in 1st Innings vs. South Africa
Ravichandran Ashwin weighed in with 56 for India, while Kyle Abbott was the standout performer for the tourists, picking up the second five-wicket haul of his Test career with figures of 5-40.
The last time a paceman took five wickets at the the Kotla was the year Kyle Abbott was born. #indvsa#cricket
India have made short shrift of South Africa, the world's No. 1-ranked Test side , during their current series. On a succession of admittedly spin-friendly wicket, it's their slow bowlers that have done the damage...
Ravichandran Ashwin Takes 7-66 as India Thrash South Africa by 124 Runs
Nov 27, 2015
Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, center, celebrates with teammates Ajinkya Rahane, right, and Wriddhiman Saha, as he takes the wicket of South African batsman AB de Villiers, on the third day of the third cricket test match between the two countries in Nagpur, India, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
India secured a series win over South Africa with a Test to spare after a comfortable victory in Nagpur on Friday.
Ravichandran Ashwin took 7-66 to add to his five-wicket haul in the first innings and finish with sensational match figures of 12-98.
Ashwin claims match figures of 12-98 as India win 3rd Test by 124 runs to take unassailable 2-0 series lead. #IndvSApic.twitter.com/2sQALxcLyv
The 124-run margin accurately reflected India's dominance as South Africa struggled to cope on a spinning pitch, succumbing to defeat within three days.
Ashwin's second-innings effort represented a 15th five-wicket haul in Tests, with his 55 in 2015 the most by any bowler.
India batsman Wriddhiman Saha suffered a rather unfortunate dismissal on Day 2 of the third Test versus South Africa in Nagpur when his reverse sweep ballooned off the wicketkeeper's foot and into the hands of Hashim Amla.
Unluckiest wicket of all time. Or caught of Wickie's boot? Never seen that before
Saha's exasperated reaction said it all as he watched the ball ricochet off Proteas keeper Dane Vilas and into Amla's grateful hands off the bowling of Imran Tahir.
India went on to make 173 in their second innings, leaving South Africa needing 310 to win the match and level the series.
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Ravichandran Ashwin Takes 5-32 as India Bowl South Africa out for 79 in Nagpur
A 14th five-wicket haul in Test cricket for Ravichandran Ashwin helped India bowl South Africa out for a mere 79 on the second day of the third test in Nagpur.
