Beginner’s duck

Vizianagaram, September 28

Rohit Sharma’s trial run as an opener lasted only two deliveries as he was dismissed without troubling the scorers in a drawn warm-up game between the Indian Board President’s XI and the visiting South Africans. 

Test aspirants Priyank Panchal (60) and wicketkeeper batsman Kona Bharat’s quickfire 71 off 57 balls were the highlight of Board President XI’s 265/8 in 64 overs. Mumbai batsman Siddhesh Lad (52) also helped himself to a half-century after South Africa declared their first innings at 279/6. Temba Bavuma remained unbeaten on 87, while Vernon Philander (48) added quick runs to the total.

All eyes were on Rohit on the final day of the game as he came out to open alongside Mayank Agarwal. Seamer Philander got a ball to move a shade and Rohit edged it to substitute wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen, who kept wickets instead of Quinton de Kock. 

4 openers in team

The first four batsmen in the batting order were all openers and Agarwal (39) and Panchal had a better day in office compared to Rohit and Abhimanyu Easwaran (13). 

Easwaran was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada, caught by Aiden Markram, bringing in Gujarat’s Panchal to join Agarwal. The duo added 52 runs for the third wicket before Agarwal was out trying to give left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (3/35) the charge. His 92-ball knock had six boundaries.

Coming in at No. 4 in the 11th over, Panchal looked solid as he hit 10 fours and one six, adding 49 runs with Karun Nair (19). It was Philander (2/27) who dismissed him in his second spell, caught by skipper Faf du Plessis. Nair was out edging Keshav Maharaj to Klaasen as the Board President’s XI were reduced to 136/5. Bharat and Lad added 100 runs for the sixth wicket, in only 20 overs.

Brief Scores: South Africa: 279/6 decl. (Aiden Markram 100 retd. out, Temba Bavuma 87*; Vernon Philander 48, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 3/66); Board President’s XI: 265/8 (Rohit Sharma 0, KS Bharat 71, Priyank Panchal 60, Siddhesh Lad 52*; Vernon Philander 2/27, Keshav Maharaj 3/35). — PTI

Let call on retirement rest with MSD: Dhawan 

The decision to call time on his illustrious international career is Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s sole prerogative as he knows a thing or two about taking important decisions, feels senior opener Shikhar Dhawan. "Dhoni has been playing for so long, I feel he understands when he should retire. This should be his decision. He has taken very important decisions so far for India in his career and I’m sure he will make the call when the time comes," Dhawan said. There was no one better than Dhoni when it came to optimising each and every player’s potential, Dhawan added. "That’s the quality of a big leader. He knows the potential of every player, and knows to what extent a player should be backed. He knows how to make a champion out of a player," Dhawan said. — PTI