Shaw shines as Kiwis lose warm-up game

Mumbai, October 17 

Seventeen-year-old Prithvi Shaw gave glimpses of his immense talent as Board President’s XI beat New Zealand by 30 runs in their opening warm-up game here today. Batting first, Board President’s XI scored 295/9 in 50 overs and then bowled out the tourists for 265 in 47.4 overs. 

Facing a senior international side for the first time, local boy Shaw scored 66 off 80 balls with nine boundaries and a six. Shaw also shared a 147-run opening stand with KL Rahul, who contributed 68 off 75 balls. Karun Nair, too, made a significant contribution, hitting 78 off just 64 balls.  Among the bowlers, Shahbaz Nadeem, who had a good run against New Zealand A recently, stood out with an impressive 3/41. 

Shaw impresses 

However, the star of the day was Shaw. Initially, it was Rahul who showed more aggression, but it wasn’t long before the youngster took charge. After showcasing a few square cuts, he lofted pacer Adam Milne for a six over covers and then pulled him for a boundary to the mid-wicket region.

Rahul got a reprieve on 41 — he was caught at deep square-leg off a no-ball by Tim Southee. After scoring his half-century, off 62 balls, he threw away his wicket in the 26th over, caught by substitute Henry Nicholls at short fine-leg off Ish Sodhi. Shaw, who brought up his 50 in 62 balls, perished when Nicholls caught him at long-off off Mitchell Santner.

Nair, meanwhile, hammered a quickfire half-century, smashing 12 boundaries in his 78-run knock. He was caught at wide long-off by Colin Munro off pacer Trent Boult, who finished with figures of 5/38.  

Early setback 

The Black Caps, in reply, lost Martin Guptill for 22 early in the chase. His partner Colin Munro (26 of 41 balls) stitched a 69-run stand for the second wicket with skipper Kane Williamson (47 off 49 balls). While Munro played a cautious hand, Williamson, on the other hand, looked quite fluent. As the Kiwis approached the three-figure mark, Munro spooned an easy catch to Shaw off Nadeem, and soon after Williamson gave leg-spinner Karn Sharma a return catch. Tom Latham and Ross Taylor then shared a partnership of 73 runs but the duo couldn’t keep up with the required run rate. The Kiwis needed 146 in the last 20 overs but the big shots didn’t come as frequently as the visitors would have liked. And then, in the 36th over, pacer Avesh Khan dismissed Taylor, and soon the Kiwis ran out of steam.

Brief scores: Board President’s XI: 295/9 (Karun Nair 78, KL Rahul 68, Prithvi Shaw 66); New Zealand: 265 all out in 47.4 overs (Tom Latham 59, Kane Williamson 47; Shahbaz Nadeem 3/41). — PTI