From Virat Kohli to Hardik Pandya, India Batters Flex Their Muscles in Pune

Just before Virat Kohli was about to enter the nets for a hit, amid “Kohli bhaiya, Virat sir, Cheeku bhaiya" chants, there was a subtle warning from the Indian camp for the spectators occupying the front row seats in the stands behind the long-off and long-on region.

“Team India wants the area vacated for safety purposes," said a local official to the fans and journalists sitting there. The official’s request left everyone confused but twenty minutes later, the words made a lot of sense.

Kohli, after a quick warm-up using a resistance band, put his batting gear on and was first to start proceedings in the net which would later become an assault zone. The right-hander started on the scratchy note he left in Ahmedabad but grew in confidence and the touch was back after facing twenty minutes of side-arm music and net bowlers.

Towards the fag end of his first hit of the evening, Kohli switched to a destructive gear and went long and big. The first few attempts were miscued towards leg-side but the ones which went straight went back into the stands.

The team’s request for vacant stands meant there weren’t any bruises after a bang-bang session because Kohli was the first of the many batters who would flex their muscles in what was India’s first open net session of the World Cup. The venue in Pune only has indoor nets and no outdoor nets away from the ground.

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Prior to this evening, India didn’t have a single session on the square. Chennai was a different net area, so was Delhi and Ahmedabad too had a cage-like structure for the players to train. Yes, there was a little range-hitting session in Chennai but it was nowhere close to the time the players spent under lights on a pleasant evening in Pune. No wonder there was full attendance on an “optional training" day.

From Rohit Sharma to Shubman Gill to Hardik Pandya to Ravindra Jadeja to Shreyas Iyer to KL Rahul, all batters started on a sedate note but the moment eye was in, plenty were deposited into the stands and the ground-staff remained on their toes for ball-fetching duty.

Pandya looked the most assured of the lot and was striking the ball cleanly in the middle. He hasn’t had much of a hit – just one innings of 11* vs Australia – in the World Cup but looked in phenomenal touch. And Rohit was on the receiving end of some destruction too.

Rohit rolls his arm over

It was outside the “assault zone" where Rohit patiently stood and watched Pandya go after nearly everything. With his cap still on, the Indian captain grabbed a ball and signalled that he is going to bowl. The first couple of deliveries were dealt with respect by the right-hander but he was back to usual business when he saw one tossed-up right outside the off-stump.

Pandya stepped out and creamed it over the long-off region for a big, big hit. He didn’t stop there, so didn’t Rohit. The skipper was back on top of his run-up and ready to bowl again. The next delivery was a half-tracker and Pandya went deep into his crease to give it a real whack.

Indian vice-captain didn’t get the elevation he would have liked but did put a lot of muscle into that shot. Rohit didn’t continue for long and was done after a short little spell. In an interview with journalist Vimal Kumar, Rohit had revealed that bowling gives “problems" to his finger so that’s why he stays away from it. No wonder it was a short, but not so sweet, spell today.

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Gill back to doing Gill things

Two long sessions with the bat, lot of fielding drills and Gill finally returned to train with the intensity he did during pre-dengue days. The right-hander missed India’s first two World Cup games due to sickness but was picked for the game against Pakistan. He could manage only 16 in that outing but looked very classy and assured during his 11-ball stay in the middle.

The 24-year-old wasn’t fielding in his usual position – slips – for that match but is likely to return there for the game against Bangladesh. Right after his 30-minute batting session, he did fielding drills for close to twenty minutes and the focus remained on close-in catching.

He returned for another hit later in the evening, and this came right after receiving a masterclass from Rohit. It was Shreyas Iyer in Chennai and Gill now in Pune.

Captain Rohit engaged in a long, animated conversation with his younger teammate and discussed ideal left shoulder position while going big straight down the ground. Gill would later shadow-practice the same shot and only left the scene when the skipper seemed convinced.

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Conditioning day for KL Rahul

Three games and three days of wicket-keeping under the unforgiving sun. Add to that the batting effort in Chennai where he hardly got a breather. It has been a busy World Cup for KL Rahul who has been on the field for an extended duration. Rightly so, his session started under the watchful eyes of Strength & Conditioning coaches and physio who focussed a lot on release work around the back.

There was an extended stretching session on the mat followed by some stick work in squat position and finally ended with light jogs, reverse jogs near the boundary rope. The classy right-hander did have a hit in the nets towards the end but it was more of a conditioning day for India’s No.5.

For the rest, it was about flexing their muscles on a very pleasant evening where nice and gentle breeze blew across the ground.