New Delhi: Indian team showed their determination in the opening practice session of the T20 World Cup Caribbean leg, with Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav putting in extra effort to leave a mark in the Super 8s.
Kohli refused to settle on the challenging pitches of New York, as reflected in his scores of 1, 4, and 0 during the group stage of the ICC event.
Now, experts and fans alike are anticipating the superstar’s resurgence when it truly counts—the Super 8s and the knockout stages.
India kicks off their Super 8 campaign against Afghanistan at the revamped Kensington Oval on Thursday.
Jadeja, though not prominent thus far in either batting or bowling, has been sparingly required due to the pace-friendly conditions in New York.
Kuldeep, on the other hand, has yet to make an appearance in the playing eleven but is poised to make a substantial impact in the spin-friendly Caribbean conditions.
Following a hiatus due to inclement weather in Fort Lauderdale, all squad members participated eagerly in Monday’s practice session, eager to capitalize on the opportunity.
The New York pitch was the subject of constant criticism and the focus now shifts to the surfaces being offered in the six venues in the Caribbean. 200, considered a par score in the IPL, has been breached only twice in the tournament and only in the Caribbean. Even 150 has proved to be a fighting total more often than not.
Pitch kaisa hai?
Considering NY pitches, it was not a surprise that Indian captain Rohit Sharma Inquired about the practice pitches from his teammates.
“Pitch kaisa hain (how is the pitch)?” he asked his premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah who seemed to be satisfied with the surfaces provided for training.
Kohli and Jadeja have intense batting session
After the warm up session in the field of play, Virat Kohli was the first one to hit the nets with Ravindra Jadeja. The former skipper preferred throwdowns for 30 minutes before facing Kuldeep Yadav and Hardik Pandya.
Kohli was seen practicing the lofted drives down the ground and over extra cover before practicing the pull shot against Jasprit Bumrah which has been his weakness against pacers. The premier fas bowler got one rise sharply from back of length and Kohli did will to hook that delivery in the fine-leg region. They both exchanged wry smiles after that moment.
Kohli took a break before taking gentle throwdowns from Yuzvendra Chahal and coach Rahul Dravid.
Ravindra Jadeja went for the slog sweep and inside out drive over extra cover against the leg-spin from a net bowler.
Rishabh Pant, India’s standout batter thus far, faced Bumrah, Hardik, Kuldeep and Axar Patel in the nets. Hardik later returned to the field of play to practice range hitting.
Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal formed the next lot to bat in the nets.
