Fast bowlers thrive after North century

Sep 26 (Cricinfo.com)

The Australians continued their dominance of the warm-up match against the Board President's XI in Chandigarh by producing another powerful performance on the second day. They suffered a blip with the bat, with Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke falling early, but Marcus North scored a brisk century to lead them to 505.



Ben Hilfenhaus bagged three wickets on the second day © AFP

Their fast bowlers then made inroads early in the Board President's XI innings. Ben Hilfenhaus struck twice in an over to remove Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane, and Peter George, a rookie fast bowler, also picked up two wickets. The home team was struggling at 90 for 6 before a breezy half-century from legspinner Piyush Chawla lifted them to 143.

Scorecard

Board President's XI 143 for 6 (Chawla 64*, Hilfenhaus 3-28) trail Australians 505 (Watson 115, Katich 104, North 124) by 362 runs