KL Rahul's scintillating century and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's twin fifties were the biggest positives as the three-day warm-up game between Indians and the Select County XI ended in a draw on Thursday in the Chester-Le-Street Stadium at Emirates Riverside. The Indians declared their second innings on 192/3, setting County XI 284 runs to win the match with a little over a session to go.
The County XI reached 31/0 with Haseeb Hameed and Jake Libby not throwing their wickets away. With the lights deteriorating and an early result seeing imminent, the players decided to shake hands and call it a day.
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The Indians began the final day without Rahul and Rohit Sharma, and instead let Mayank Agarwal open the innings with Cheteshwar Pujara. India's top four – Agarwal, Pujara, Hanuma Vihari and Jadeja received decent hit outs. Mayank played well for his 47 while Pujara contributed with 38 as the pair put on a fifty-plus stand.
Vihari remained unbeaten in 43 off 105 balls with three boundaries, while Jadeja added to his impressive half-century with a second of the match. He retired on 51. With just a little over a session to play out, Hameed and Libby went about their business without much risks. The Indians operated four pacers – all of whom remained wicketless.
{{/usCountry}}Vihari remained unbeaten in 43 off 105 balls with three boundaries, while Jadeja added to his impressive half-century with a second of the match. He retired on 51. With just a little over a session to play out, Hameed and Libby went about their business without much risks. The Indians operated four pacers – all of whom remained wicketless.
{{/usCountry}}After getting off the blocks quickly, the runs dried up, and even though it was assumed that the match will be called off at 5:00 PM local time (9:30 IST), the players mutually decided to brings the curtains down 10 minutes earlier. Neither Axar Patel or Jadeja bowled. Thakur and Bumrah were the most economical Indian bowlers giving away 11 runs each of their five overs. On the other hand, Libby and Hameed were unbeaten on 17 and 13 respectively with a boundary each.
Earlier on Day 1, it was Rahul's century that set the base for Indians' first-innings total of 311. After India's top three returned cheaply, Rahul peeled off 101 before retiring as he along with Jadeja brought India back in the game. From 107/4, Jadeja and Rahul rallied with a 127-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
In reply, the County XI responded with a sublime hundred from Hameed, who on the same day received his Test recall for the India series. However, barring Hameed, no other batsman had an answer against India's bowlers as Umesh Yadav returned impressive figures of 3/22.