Sanju Samson during India’s net at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. (Getty Images) TimesofIndia.com in Chennai: It was business as usual for the Indian cricket team as they held an intensive practice session at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday. The batsmen had long strokes, the bowlers stayed in rhythm with extended spells and later came back to flex their muscles with long shots. The only unusual event in the session was the absence of Rinku Singh.As reported by TimesofIndia.com earlier, the left-hander rushed back home to be by his ailing father’s side and there is no word yet on his return. Not because of Rinku’s absence, but discussions about the ideal batting mix for the crucial match against Zimbabwe on February 26 have already taken place and will continue.
India’s Playing XI: Big headache for Gautam Gambhir, Suryakumar Yadav
Defeated in their first Super Eight game against South Africa in Ahmedabad, India are under immense pressure to mend their batting for the rest of the tournament. As expected, the discussion revolves around breaking the pattern of lefties in the batting order.India have a plethora of southpaws in the mix and the opposition have cracked the code by using off-spin effectively against the Men in Blue. One of the first batsmen to hit the nets, much like in Ahmedabad, was wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson and it remains to be seen whether the think tank will push him into the top order.The trio of Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma have yet to fire collectively and the constant poor starts have the management in order. Will they send the out-of-form Samson back to the top order or will they change the batting order by promoting Surya? No possibility can be ruled out at this stage and even a clean session pointed in that direction. Both Tilak and Surya batted together and as the left-hander batted, coach Gautam Gambhir and senior player Jasprit Bumrah watched closely from behind the nets.
Tilak Varma during India’s net at MA Chidambaram Stadium. (Getty Images)
Both the batsmen exchanged their usual fist pumps every time they changed ends. The Indian skipper kept his younger partner in good spirits as they stayed out for over an hour – facing plenty of spin before moving to the second net, which consisted of a mix of net bowlers and Indian seamers Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj.Bumrah was present but, like in Ahmedabad, preferred a skill-based session with Morne Morkel in the practice nets. The bowler attacked the stumps consistently and received constant feedback from the coach during his short intense spell of not more than 20 minutes. India’s session lasted more than four hours before the ground staff returned to tending the practice pitches and watering the square generously.
Jasprit Bumrah during India’s practice session ahead of the T20 World Cup match against Zimbabwe in Chennai. (Getty Images)
The playing surface will be center wicket and is expected to be different from the slow surfaces we have seen so far in the tournament. Batters would certainly enjoy their time in the middle and dew could be a big theme. Two days before the match, it was drizzling too much around 9 pm when the Indian team was finalizing their game. It wasn’t much of a factor during the India games and the Men in Blue could experience it if they finish second.The eve of the match is expected to be a low-key affair for the defending champions as they are scheduled to have an afternoon session while Zimbabwe train under lights. Only four players trained under the unforgiving sun in Ahmedabad and a similar visit is expected on Wednesday. The press conference is expected to provide some clues regarding the playing XI, which doesn’t look like an open-and-shut case at the moment.
