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India amass 8-363 against Aussie rookies

25th November, 2014
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Sam Grimwade was meant to be sitting an exam at Melbourne Grammar on Tuesday.

Instead the 16-year-old was in the middle of Adelaide’s Glenelg Oval, his offspin being put to the test by India’s Test batsmen.

India finished 8-363 on the second and final day of their tour game against the Cricket Australia XI.

Karn Sharma (52no) and Wriddhiman Saha (56no) were at the crease when the game was called off with 15 overs remaining in the day.

Stand-in skipper Virat Kohli top-scored with 60, while Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara retired shortly after bringing up their half-centuries.

Kohli took a cautious approach, especially against Grimwade.

“They’re just trying to get ready for the first Test. They want a bit of game time out in the middle,” Grimwade said.

“I was expecting them to come really hard at us but they’re taking their time to get themselves in.”

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Grimwade was relieved to be dealing with Kohli instead of negotiating a three-hour English exam.

“I’m pretty happy to be bowling out here to the Indians,” he said.

“You watch him (Kohli) on TV all the time and he makes heaps of runs.

“It can be intimidating, but it’s not too bad … I can only improve by bowling to them.”

Grimwade, the youngest player in a developmental side loaded with teenagers, kept it tight and dismissed Ajinkya Rahane for one.

Rahane was out driving, with Ryan Carters snaffling a diving one-handed catch at mid-off.

Grimwade, who finished with figures of 1-61 from 17 overs, then claimed a sharp catch to remove Kohli.

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The hosts posted a total of 219 on Monday, with express paceman Varun Aaron snaring 3-72 from 17 overs.

The visitors are playing a pair of two-day matches to prepare for the first Test in Brisbane, with the next one starting at Adelaide Oval on Friday.

Former captain Sourav Ganguly has questioned the schedule leading up to a four-Test series against Australia.

“I am not happy,” Ganguly told reporters in India.

“This effectively means that you will get only two innings to prepare yourself for the first Test.

“Even someone like Virat Kohli would like to get at least four innings.”

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