A file image of India’s Captain Rohit Sharma plays a shot during a practice session
| Photo Credit: ANI
India, having enjoyed a well-deserved two-day break following its six-wicket win over Pakistan, returned to training at the ICC Academy grounds on Wednesday (February 26, 2025).
The Men in Blue started their campaign with a win over Bangladesh and the victory against arch-rivals sealed their berth in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, New Zealand also qualified for the last four after beating Pakistan and Bangladesh in its first two contests.
Rohit Sharma’s men will play the Kiwis in the final league game of Group A on Sunday (March 2, 2025) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. It will be interesting to see if both teams can test their bench strength or stick to the winning combination.
India will play in the first semifinal next Tuesday (March 4, 2025) in Dubai, while the Black Caps will travel back to Lahore after Sunday’s (March 2, 2025) fixture and play their knockout match on Wednesday (March 5, 2025).
On a breezy and chilly evening, the Indian team had a nearly three-hour session. Vice-captain Shubman Gill, though, was the only absentee.
Washington Sundar and K.L. Rahul were among the first set of batters to have a hit, facing the spinners Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakaravarthy.
Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant started in the other net by facing pacers Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya. Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel joined in later, taking throwdowns before the batters alternated between the three nets.
Later, the rest of the contingent also had a hit, with Rohit and Shami being the only ones who did not pad up.
The batters were keen to sharpen their big-hitting ability, taking on the bowlers and hitting towering shots that kept the onlookers on high alert.
Meanwhile, bowling coach Morne Morkel has rejoined the team. Last week, the former South African pacer returned home for personal reasons and missed the first two encounters.
Published – February 26, 2025 11:44 pm IST