Ahead of India’s second Super 8 fixture against Zimbabwe, the team practised under the bright lights of the MA Chidambaram Stadium. As the Indian skipper said in the pre-match press conference, “We stay in the present.” The Men in Blue will want to take the lessons from Ahmedabad and adopt a strategy that propels them towards a successful title defence.
Practice starts off with fielding and catching drills
The pattern is set for every practice session: warm-up, catching drills and nets, in that order. But at every mandatory session, the management introduces new drills to keep the team engaged. After spending 20 minutes on flat catching and fielding exercises, the players moved to their designated nets. Hardik Pandya continued taking catches from assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate for an extra 10 minutes before joining the pacers’ net.
Rinku Singh not part of the procession
The Men in Blue had a full-fledged practice session, but there was one player missing. Rinku Singh was not part of it. For the first couple hours there was no official communication on why the batter skipped the session. Later, sources confirmed that due to a family emergency, he had to fly back to his hometown. He is expected to rejoin the team tomorrow.
Ishan Kishan–Suryakumar Yadav have an extended session against off-spin
Suryakumar Yadav began in the spinners’ net, while Ishan Kishan took strike at the pacers’ net simultaneously. The two batters continued their long hitting against spin and pace respectively, until Kishan stepped into the same net as the Indian skipper. The opener stood behind the stumps observing Surya’s batting when he wasn’t on strike. The net featured some of India’s spinners and two right-arm off-spinners bowling at them. While Surya struck a few big shots, several did not clear the boundary and instead hung in the air.
Bumrah works on his bowling with Morkel in the nets
Jasprit Bumrah, who usually has a 45-minute full-fledged bowling session after warming up, was not part of the centre-wicket practice. Following his warm-up, the premier pacer headed to the nets at the back of the stadium with bowling coach Morne Morkel. That was all for the leader of the pace attack.
Varun Chakravarthy’s special catching drill
It is no secret that one of India’s most reliable spinners is not the strongest in the field when it comes to holding on to high catches. Fielding coach T. Dilip had a special assignment for the frontline spinner.
Chakravarthy had to look down and keep his eyes closed for the first three to four seconds. Only when the fielding coach hit the ball up in the air was Varun allowed to look up and attempt the catch. The drill sharpens reactions and improves judgement by forcing the brain to pick up the ball late and adjust the body accordingly.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news