Despite leaking 58 runs off the last five overs, India restricted Australia to 153 for 2 in their final T20 World Cup warm-up match, while Virat Kohli rolled his arm over to be a potential 6th bowling option for the side. In a high-pressure tournament like the T20 World Cup, India had to locate an extra bowling option to provide a cushion to the five elite bowlers. Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami were all rested for the game, but Rohit took the field and bowled a couple of overs for 12 runs.
After Aaron Finch chose to bat first, India had Australia on the back foot at 11 for three. After a poor attempt at a reverse sweep caught him in front of Ravichandran Ashwin, David Warner’s barren streak continued. The very next ball, Ashwin got rid of birthday boy Mitchell Marsh, who had played for a turn that wasn’t there, only to be edged to the first slip. With a slider off his first ball, Ravindra Jadeja had Finch lbw, leaving Australia with a lot more work to do. With a 61-run partnership, Steve Smith (57 off 48) and Glenn Maxwell (37 off 28) attempted to break the shackles. Smith kept himself alive by spinning the strike as Maxwell used his reverse sweep to great effect.