It was RCB vs RCB as 'Team Chahal' took on 'Team Kohli' in a competitive yet friendly duel on a low and slow wicket amidst the soaring heat of the Arabian desert in UAE.
Young RCB opener Devdutt Padikkal made the most of his opportunity to open alongside AB de Villiers for Team Chahal and the opening pair got the team off to a flier. While AB de Villiers struck 43 off 33 deliveries, youngster Padikkal impressed many watching from the sidelines with his wide range of shots.
Proteas pace spearhead Dale Steyn did not find it tough to finish his 4-overs quota for Team Kohli while mystery spinner the pick of the bowlers was all-rounder Washington Sundar who gave away just 11 runs and picked up 2 wickets in his 4-over spell.
Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batsman Parthiv Patel opened Team Kohli's batting chasing a competitive 126-run total on a unfriendly batting deck but they came short in their chase as the wicket turned more than what it did in the first innings. Uncapped left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed starred with the ball as he scalped 3 wickets for just 13 runs in his 4-over spell.
Yuzvendra Chahal once again emerged victorious as a captain in the recent set of practice games within the squad courtesy an all-round showing from his side.
Speaking about the team combinations, Mike Hesson said: "We looked about match-ups. We wanted our opening bowlers to bowl to left and right-handers. We wanted to look at some possibilities in terms of partnerships. We also provide in each team, leg-spinners, off-spinners, left-arm spinners to each team so that we could provide with those match-ups which they are likely to face in a week's time."