Australia captain Aaron Finch gave himself a timely boost ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup while India seamer Mohammed Shami proved his worth in a dramatic four-wicket final over in a warm-up match between the tournament heavyweights on Monday.
Finch had managed only one fifty in his previous 10 T20 Internationals and his slump has been a major talking point in the lead-up to Australia's title defence on home soil.
His 76 off 54 balls will ease some of the pressure on the under-fire opener, though it was not enough to secure victory as a spectacular late collapse gave India a six-run win.
"It's nice to get a few in the middle," Finch said afterwards at the Gabba.
"It would have been nice to get us over the line but can't win the World Cup in a practice game."
With Australia preferring to chase, India made a competitive 186-7 with half-centuries from opener KL Rahul (57) and number four Suryakumar Yadav (50).
Rohit Sharma's 14-ball 15 would do little to ease concerns about the India captain's form heading into the tournament, while Virat Kohli (19) did not last long either.
© 2024 Rediff.com -