The sun was descending in the skies while the foothills of the Western Ghats offered an imposing backdrop. Suddenly a group of fans ran across the undulating terrain around the MCA Stadium here on Tuesday. Peering hard and gesticulating with their hands, cricket’s followers were eager to catch a glimpse of their sporting deities.
Soon a security vehicle’s siren blared and the Indian team bus slipped into view while on the nearby expressway, vehicles sped towards either Pune or Mumbai. Originally scheduled as an optional session, the team, though, preferred to be at full strength. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid sauntered towards the centre-square, gazing at the pitch and then the skipper, who shadow-practised a few shots, had a chat with the coach.
Once nets commenced, Virat Kohli was at his aggressive best. The warning call ‘watch it’ was screamed often as the batter lofted with impunity. One shot flew towards the rest of his teammates in a huddle, and instinctively many heads ducked, and a few other strokes thudded into the stands. Kohli’s batting colleagues had their stints and Ravindra Jadeja too had a hit.
The bowlers hit their straps with Mohammed Shami steaming in sharp. The nets as usual were split into throw-downs, spin and pace while some local bowlers too lent a hand. High-catches were also practised in the deep as the unit, after two days of rest following Saturday’s win against Pakistan in Ahmedabad, preferred to train hard under lights.\
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On Thursday, India will play its World Cup game against Bangladesh and in the stands some fans from the neighbouring country, sporting caps topped with stuffed tiger dolls, watched the proceedings besides offering quotes in Bengali to a section of the media. Meanwhile, the Men in Blue, clad in their orange training jerseys, continued their sessions.
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