Shikhar Dhawan pleased with Virat Kohli partnership

Shikhar Dhawan was pleased to have mounted a stand worth in excess of 100 alongside Virat Kohli as India overcame a Western Australia XI by 74 runs as part of their preparations for the forthcoming one-day international series against Australia.

Dhawan and Kohli were in impressive form, each scoring 74 as India totalled 192-4 batting first in the Twenty20 clash in Perth on Friday - the pair's partnership reaching 149 in 14.1 overs.

The 30-year-old was delighted to have put in a strong display alongside Kohli ahead of the series and felt the warm-up match had helped their preparations for the clash between the top two sides in the ICC ODI rankings.

"It was a good time to get into groove with other batsmen and it's good to get a 100-plus partnership before the main matches start," said Dhawan. "Everything we needed out of this practice game we got, so we're happy about it."

Although he was unable to remove Travis Birt (74 not out) during the Western Australia XI's chase, left-arm seamer Barinder Sran (2-24) warmed up for his ODI debut by dismissing D'Arcy Short (5) and William Bosisto (1) before catching Josh Inglis (11) at deep square leg off Ravindra Jadeja (2-13).

The hosts were unable to recover from the fall of those wickets and could only reach 118-6, with Dhawan impressed by Sran's impact.

"It was a great boost for Barry, getting three wickets at his first practice game," he said.

"Over time he's going to get experience and mature. He looks fit and strong and a very good prospect for the Indian team."

India will face a Western Australia XI in a 50-over game on Saturday before beginning the five-match series against Australia in Perth on Tuesday and Dhawan is looking forward to the test.

"Of course it's always a big thing to beat the home side and of course Australia is one of the best sides in the world and when you play against one of those sides and you win it’s a good feeling," he said. "We are going to give our best when the main matches come."