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The 2023 ODI World Cup warm-up matches kickstarted on Friday across three venues. While the clash between South Africa and Afghanistan was abandoned without a ball being bowled, New Zealand and Bangladesh notched dominant wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka, respectively.
Team India are scheduled to play their first warm-up match on Saturday against England at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. The Men in Blue assembled in the city right after the culmination of their three-match ODI series against Australia.
The warm-up matches come across as an excellent avenue for teams to fine-tune some of their unticked boxes as well as adjust to the conditions on offer prior to the crucial tournament.
As far as India are concerned, they will look to continue with the same momentum that began with their triumphant 2023 Asia Cup campaign. With Ravichandran Ashwin officially part of the World Cup squad, the management will be looking to integrate him into the scheme of things as well.
Team India have had contrasting fortunes when it comes to warm-up matches, with mammoth wins and losses both marking their presence in recent times.
On that note, let us take a look at the top five knocks by an Indian in ODI World Cup warmups.
#5 Virender Sehwag - 54 (56) vs Australia; 2011; M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
The last time India hosted the ODI World Cup was in 2011 as a co-host and they were up against an Australian side in the warm-up fixture. The Men in Blue were bundled out for just 214, and the score naturally suggests that the batters struggled to play on the sluggish wicket.
Virender Sehwag, however, managed to make the most of the new ball and scored a half-century on a difficult surface, that too against a formidable bowling attack. The opening batter continued with his aggressive approach as wickets fell around him. He ended up with 54 runs off just 56 deliveries, which included eight fours and a six, before being bowled by Jason Krejza.
Sehwag's knock proved to be valuable as India managed to defend the target. Spinners claimed nine of the ten wickets to fall in the second wicket to bowl out Australia for 176.
#4 Ajinkya Rahane 88 (61) vs Afghanistan; 2015; Adelaide Oval
Ajinkya Rahane had a solid spell in the ODI set up in the middle order as well as an opener at times. He was the designated No. 4 batter in the team and came into the 2015 ODI World Cup on the back of some good form.
He scored an unbeaten fifty in Team India's warm-up encounter against Afghanistan. The right-handed batter notched 12 fours and two sixes in his knock, which ultimately helped India propel to a mammoth total of 364-5 in the first innings.
India comfortably won the clash after restricting Afghanistan to 211-9 during the run chase.
#3 MS Dhoni 113 (78) vs Bangladesh; 2019; Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
MS Dhoni has quite a history with ODI World Cup warm-up matches. He was the man to the rescue yet again after India were tottering at 102-4 in the 22nd over in the 2019 World Cup warm-up clash against Bangladesh.
He forged a crucial partnership with KL Rahul for the fifth wicket worth 164 runs. The wicketkeeper-batter scored eight fours and seven sixes in his knock before being bowled by Shakib Al Hasan in the final over.
India ended the first innings with 359-7 and won the contest by 95 runs in the end.
#2 Rohit Sharma 150 (122) vs Afghanistan; 2015; Adelaide Oval
The 2015 World Cup meant a lot to Rohit Sharma, especially after narrowly missing out on the previous winning edition. He made a strong comeback following his promotion to the top of the order and was one of the players to watch out for in the 2015 edition of the tournament.
While India suffered a mammoth defeat in their first warm-up clash against hosts Australia, they made a strong comeback in the next clash against Afghanistan.
Before Ajinkya Rahane's exploits, Rohit set the platform with an imperious innings. He hit 12 fours and seven sixes before getting out in the 40th over to Mohammad Nabi.
#1 MS Dhoni 108 (64) vs New Zealand; M Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The former India skipper scored a memorable hundred in Chennai of all places against New Zealand during the 2011 World Cup warm-ups. He came in at No .5, with the score reading 148-3 in the 30th over, and took on the New Zealand bowlers.
He hit five consecutive fours in an over against Jacob Oram and ended up with 11 fours and three sixes in his innings. He remained unbeaten and was aided by fifties from Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, and Suresh Raina and India posted a dominant total of 360-5.
The Men in Blue ended up comfortably winning the clash by 117 runs in the end.
Will the Indian batters have a field day in the upcoming warm-up encounter against England? Let us know what you think.
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