Paceman Varun Aaron and opener Murali Vijay impressed for India on the opening day of the tourists' match against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide on Monday
Adelaide: Paceman Varun Aaron and opener Murali Vijay impressed for India on the opening day of the tourists' match against a Cricket Australia XI in Adelaide on Monday.
Varun Aaron
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The CA XI -- lacking any big names -- were dismissed for 219, with Aaron taking three for 72 off 17 overs in a bright start to the tour of Australia. Fellow quicks Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar each grabbed two wickets, while leg-spinner Karn Sharma snapped up two for 30. India made a positive start to their innings in the two-day match with Vijay clipping four boundaries in his unbeaten knock of 32 off 50 balls as the tourists went to stumps at 55 for one.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed for 10, the only Indian wicket to fall in the 16 overs to the close. Aaron was not given the new ball but was still the pick of the bowlers. His opening spell of six overs went for just 15 runs and featured the wickets of CA XI captain Ashton Turner and Nick Stevens.
The right-armer, who clocked at 152.1 km/h during a recent one-day international against Sri Lanka, returned later to remove Alex Gregory. He did however come in for some late punishment from Harry Nielsen, son of former Australia coach Tim, and NSW quick Harry Conway.
Wicketkeeper Nielsen finished with an unbeaten 43 from 40 balls, and the pair put on a final-wicket stand of 52 runs.
Pace and bounce, the same issues that have troubled so many Indian batsmen on past Australian tours, were Aaron's biggest assets. The 25-year-old paceman is playing for the first time since injuring his quad in the opening clash of India's recent five-game ODI series. Opener Ryan Carters, one of only a few players with first-class experience in the developmental CA XI, top-scored with 58.
The visitors are playing a pair of two-day matches to warm up for the four-Test series, with the next starting at Adelaide Oval on Friday. The opening Test gets underway at Brisbane's Gabba ground on December 4.
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