NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket team commenced their Caribbean leg of the
T20 World Cup
with a focused and intense practice session.
Virat Kohli
,
Ravindra Jadeja
, and Kuldeep Yadav put in extra effort to prepare for the Super 8s stage of the tournament, PTI reported.
Kohli struggled to find his footing on the challenging pitches in New York, scoring only 1, 4, and 0 in the group stage matches.
Fans and experts alike are hoping for the superstar batsman to regain his form and make a significant impact in the crucial Super 8s and knockout stages.
India's first Super 8 match is scheduled for Thursday against Afghanistan at the renovated Kensington Oval.
T20 World Cup 2024: Points Table | Schedule
Jadeja, too, has yet to make a notable contribution with either bat or ball. However, the all-rounder was only required to bat once and was not heavily relied upon for his bowling due to the pace-friendly conditions in New York.
Kuldeep, who has not featured in the playing eleven thus far, is expected to play a crucial role in the Caribbean conditions, which have traditionally favored spinners.
The entire Indian squad participated in the practice session, eager to make the most of the opportunity after not having played since completing the New York leg on June 12. Poor weather conditions in Fort Lauderdale prevented any training or play, making this session all the more important.
The pitches in New York were heavily criticized, and now attention turns to the surfaces being prepared at the six Caribbean venues.
In the tournament, a score of 200, considered par in the IPL, has only been surpassed twice, both times in the Caribbean. Even a total of 150 has often proven to be competitive.
Pitch kaisa hain? Rohit asks his teammates
As Indian captain
Rohit Sharma
entered the practice area, he asked his teammates about the condition of the training pitches. Given the circumstances, his inquiry was not completely unexpected.
"Pitch kaisa hain (how is the pitch)?" he asked his lead pacer Jasprit Bumrah who seemed to be pleased with the surfaces provided for training.
Kohli and Jadeja have intense batting session
Virat Kohli, the first player to enter the nets after warming up on the field, spent at least 30 minutes facing throwdowns before taking on Kuldeep and
Hardik Pandya
.
He focused on lofted drives down the ground and over extra cover, as well as practicing the pull shot against Jasprit Bumrah. One delivery from Bumrah rose sharply from back of length, and Kohli hooked it towards the fine-leg region, resulting in an exchange of wry smiles between the two players.
Following a short break, Kohli received gentle throwdowns from Yuzvendra Chahal and coach Rahul Dravid. In the adjacent net, Jadeja worked on his slog sweep and inside-out drive over extra cover against a leg-spinner from the net bowlers.
Rishabh Pant, India's most impressive batter in the tournament so far, faced deliveries from Bumrah, Hardik, Kuldeep, and Axar Patel in the nets. Later, Hardik returned to the field to practice his range hitting.
The next group to bat in the nets consisted of
Suryakumar Yadav
, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
With the breeze blowing across the facility, Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh managed to generate significant swing with the ball.
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