Virat Kohli took a middle stump guard once Shubman Gill had finished his session at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on Tuesday evening.
Walking in gingerly since Rohit Sharma was smashing the bowlers at the adjoining nets, Kohli placed one of his two bats behind the stumps. Mohammed Shami had been sending down a few thunderbolts but Kohli remained nonchalant.
The first ball was placed deftly off the back-foot behind square and the next vanished straight over the bowler’s head as Rahul Dravid ducked for cover at the opposite end of the wicket. There was no respite for the other bowlers as Kohli seemed to be in a murderous mood.
There was no let-up in intensity in what was India’s first practice since their demolition of Pakistan. An optional session generally doesn’t attract the regulars, but it seemed the players had made it a point to be present in a bid to not allow any complacency to creep into the team’s ranks.
Three comfortable victories on the trot would generally mean some rest and relaxing. But there was no sign of any smugness during the two-hour session.
A couple of months ago in the West Indies, India had been struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel. But things dramatically changed within a month with the team beginning to see a rainbow when it was thought it would cripple under the burden of expectations.
India versus Bangladesh has a storied history in itself, the gulf between the teams notwithstanding. Bangladesh have won three of the last four ODIs between the teams, including their last meeting in the Asia Cup.
In the 2015 quarter final at the MCG, Bangladesh cried foul over centurion Rohit getting a close no-ball reprieve on 90. Outraged by the umpiring, their cricket Board even moved the ICC with the backing of the world body’s president AHM Mustafa Kamal, a Bangladeshi.
The last meeting between the teams in an ICC event on Indian soil was in the 2016 T20 World Cup when MS Dhoni’s presence of mind earned the home team a one-run victory off the last ball.
Perhaps not willing to sacrifice an inch in the mental warfare, Bangladesh captain Shakib-al Hasan has vowed to play Thursday’s contest despite a quadricep injury. A scan has shown improvement and he will undergo further tests following Tuesday’s practice session.
A final call is expected to be made on the day of the match but Shakib is hell-bent on playing.
