3 epic Indian wins in warm-up matches

Warm-up matches are the best preparation a team can get before a big tournament. There is nothing like getting an opportunity to try out all the 15 members in the squad and give them enough time in the middle before they actually face sterner tests.

Warm-up games are not considered as official international matches and hence wins registered and records made are not counted. Also, teams are allowed to play all the members of the squad and there is nothing like playing XI. However, only 11 players can bat and be on the field at a time.

In the past, few of India's warm-up games in ICC tournaments have turned out to be dramatic. These Indian wins in practice games would have held a special place in the hearts of the fans if they were official matches. Unfortunately, they are forgotten and are not talked about now.

Let us take a look at 3 of India's epic wins in practice games which are forgotten.

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#3 India vs Australia (World Cup 2011)

Team India started the 2011 World Cup on a winning note by beating the Australians in their first warm-up game at Bangalore. Australia's eternal weakness once again led to their downfall as the Indian spinners bamboozled the men in yellow.

Batting first, India lost wickets at regular intervals and found themselves in a deep trouble at 138/8. Virender Sehwag scored a quickfire half-century and Yusuf Pathan chipped in with a useful 32 but no other batsman could kick on to get a big one. The tail wagged and pushed India to 214 which was never going to be enough. However, the Indian bowlers had other plans.

The mighty-looking Australian line-up crumbled like a pack of cards as seven wickets were shared by Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh. From 118/2, Australia lost their last eight wickets for just 58 runs and were bowled out for 176.

India claimed a 38-run win in what looked like a cakewalk run chase.

Brief scores: India 214/10 (Sehwag 54, Y.Pathan 32; Lee 3/35) beat Australia 176/10 (Ponting 57, Paine 38; Chawla 4/31)

#2 India vs Australia (Champions Trophy 2013)

India vs Australia has always been a hard-fought contest whether they play a warm-up match or an official game. This one was nothing different. Sophia Gardens, Cardiff was the venue for this clash which was intense enough to look like an official ODI.

India were reeling at 55/5 after choosing to bat. The tough times called for the skipper MS Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik to stitch a mammoth partnership and rescue India. Dhoni (91) and Karthik (146*) added 211 for the sixth wicket and propelled India to 308/6. India completely annihilated the Australians by bowling them out for just 65 in 23 overs, thereby winning by 243 runs. Umesh Yadav was the wrecker-in-chief with the figures of 5/18.

Sadly, India's most dominant win over Australia does not have a place in the record books. After the wins in both the warm-up games in Champions Trophy 2013, India were ready for the bigger matches in the group stage of the tournament.

Brief scores: India 308/6 (Karthik 146*, Dhoni 91; McKay 2/39) beat Australia 65 (Voges 23, Hughes 14; Umesh 5/18) by 243 runs.

#1 India vs Sri Lanka (Champions Trophy 2013)

The 2013 ICC Champions Trophy was a perfect tournament for India in every aspect. They outplayed all their oppositions to reach the final and snatched a narrow win over England by 5 runs to win their second Champions Trophy title.

Things started falling in place right from the first warm-up game against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston. After being set a mammoth 334 to win, India lost a flurry of wickets and were reeling at 110/4 before Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik got together and took India home.

Kohli finished with a magnificent 144 in a run chase while Karthik stayed unbeaten on 106.

The Men in Blue could not have started the tournament in a better way. This win sent a clear message to other teams that India meant business.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 333/5 (Dilshan 84, KJ Perera 82; Ishant 1/41) lost to India 337/5 (Kohli 144, Karthik 106*; Eranga 2/60) by 5 wickets.