DUBAI: Two exciting warm up matches were held yesterday at the ICC Academy in Dubai. First match was between Pakistan and West Indies. The second match was between India and England.
Pakistan clearly overpowered the defending T20 champions west indies to win by 7 wickets with 27 balls remaining in the warmup match held in Dubai.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam was in splendid touch as he scored a half century off 41 balls to navigate the Pakistan chase to reach 131 for the loss of only 3 wickets in 15.3 overs. Earlier, West Indies captain Pollard decided to bat first on winning the toss and the team managed to only score 130/7 in their allotted 20 overs. Shimron Hetmyer top-scored with 28 runs. Pakistan’s bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf picked up two wickets each.
In another warmup match between India and England, India secured a convincing win by 7 wickets. Batting first England put together a competitive score of 188 for 5 wickets off the allotted 20 overs. Jonny Bairstow top scored with 49 runs while Moeen Ali scored 44 runs not out. Mohamed Shammi collected 3 wickets for 40 runs.
Chasing 188 runs, the Indian openers put together 82 run partnership with KL Rahul (51 runs off 24 balls) and Ishan Kishan (70 runs off 46 balls). Ishan Kishan was retired hurt when the Indian score was at 168 runs in the 15th over. Hardik Pandya (16 runs) and Rishab Pant (29 runs) made sure that India crossed the winning line in 19 overs. India reached 192 for the loss of 3 wickets in 19 overs.
Pakistan is scheduled to play their first match of the tournament against India on October 24, while West Indies would play England on October, 23. West Indies are the defending champions, and also the only team to win the T20 World Cup twice.
Two other warm up matches were held between Afghanistan and South Africa and New Zealand Vs Australia at the Tolerance Oval , Abhu Dhabi. South Africa won convincingly by 41 runs against the Afghanistan while Australia edged over New Zealand with a 3 wicket win. (RZ)
[Image credit icc-cricket.com and tweet – BCCI]
