India lift gloom with victory over Sussex
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India lifted the gloom after their crushing Test series defeat against England by warming up for the forthcoming one-day internationals with a six-wicket victory over Sussex at Hove on Thursday.
The Indians lost all four Tests against England, but they showed no signs of a hangover as Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma hit half-centuries to secure a first win of the tour.
India, who play further one-day matches against Kent and Leicestershire, reached a Duckworth-Lewis adjusted target of 235 in 45 overs with 4.1 overs to spare and will hope the momentum from this victory can provide some impetus as they prepare for the one-day matches against England, which begin with a Twenty20 clash on August 31.
After India won the toss and elected to bowl, Sussex threatened to post an imposing total thanks to useful contributions from Joe Gatting, Matt Machan and Ben Brown.
But they subsided dramatically after Brown mistimed a slog at Munaf Patel in the 43rd over, losing their last five wickets for 18 runs in 19 balls as RP Singh finished with four for 45.
India included five members of their World Cup-winning side, and Sachin Tendulkar and Patel began confidently enough with a stand of 41 in 7.4 overs before left-armer Chris Liddle foxed Tendulkar with a slower ball which was driven to mid-off.
Patel is anxious to press his claims for a role in the forthcoming one-day series and played attractively for his 55 off 65 balls, including nine fours, before Sussex skipper Chris Nash turned one past him with his first delivery.
Nash and leg-spinner Will Beer occasionally got some sharp turn from a worn pitch but the impressive Kohli and Sharma, who hit two fifties during the one-day series against West Indies in June, improved their chances of facing England in a stand of 104 in 17.5 overs.
Kohli hit six fours and a six off Naved Arif in his 71 in 83 balls before driving to mid-on, but India needed just 27 to win when he departed and Sharma eased to an unbeaten 61 from 65 balls with eight fours and a six.
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