India and West Indies looked in contrasting moods ahead of their virtual T20 World Cup quarter-final on Sunday. Fresh from their defeat against South Africa, West Indies opted for a light training session where they focused on Sherfan Rutherford, who was the only man to train at the Eden Gardens center on Saturday.
Rutherford had a few throws and practice against Roston Chase before calling it a day. In addition to training, Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd have been practicing on the ground and improving their skills with the ball and bat. You couldn’t tell it was the eve of a knockout from the West Indies camp.
In stark contrast, most of India’s players turned up for what Ryan ten Doeschate called an optional training session. The Indian team took over almost half of the pitch and practiced in five separate nets before the match. Washington Sundar (L) and Kuldeep Yadav (R) were seen practicing at the net in Kolkata. (Image: PTI)
The first net, which was placed on the long-on, was given to Axar Patel, who was batting Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav. Net two was adjacent to the pitch cover on the day of the match where Jasprit Bumrah burst in and bowled his deliveries. There was no batter to be seen at the nets – part of Bumrah’s usual process of trying to sharpen his rhythm and relax.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah works on his bowling during practice in Kolkata. (Image: PTI)
The third net was on the other side of the pitch in short mid wicket where Varun Chakravarthy went all out. This was the busiest training area and we’ll get to why in a moment.
Networks four and five were placed in the broad long direction. In Net 4, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma got into the game with the bat. The final wicket was given exclusively to Abhishek Sharma, who faced a mix of pacers and spinners – net bowlers organized by the Cricket Association of Bengal. Gautam Gambhir kept a close eye on Varun Chakravarthy. (Image: PTI)
But let’s talk about Net 3. This is where the chaos manifested itself. The fact that India were hammered by South Africa in Ahmedabad and that Zimbabwe were all out for 184 in Chennai must have set alarm bells ringing in the Indian team management. So on Saturday, while the batsmen were having fun in the nets, a thumb tape came out of head coach Gautam Gambhir’s pocket and he, along with several staff members, measured the specific lengths of bowlers who might be ideal on that wicket.
After the measurement was completed, four markers were placed for Varun Chakravarthy to focus on. Varun bowled his deliveries with piercing accuracy – some hit the wicket, some washed out – but more importantly, he repeatedly hit the designated spots in the net.
With no batter in sight, Varun went about his business like a ninja, getting the volume under his belt before the game. Once Varun was done and the markers were removed, bowling coach Morne Morkel asked Axar Patel to use his intuition and hit the top of the stumps. With the baseball glove positioned directly behind the stumps, Morkel went through a few repetitions with Axar, hoping to get that length into the Indian vice-captain’s muscle memory.
IND vs WI: WHY WILL LENGTH MATTER?
Eden Gardens is already a place with relatively small dimensions. Add to that the curator billing the surface as a batting wicket and the signs of a high-scoring encounter are already ringing in the ears of all who come to watch the match.
The West Indies side may not have the same bowling depth as India, but they have enough firepower in direct batting to match India in due time.
So yes, length does matter because only accurate lengths can keep the ball out of the hitting arcs of the batters. That — along with defensive variations — could be what the team resorts to if their first plan of attack falls apart on Sunday.
HOW ABHISHEK SHARMA FAILED IN THE NETWORKS?
Now we come to what you have actually been waiting for – how did the Indian batsmen look in their individual sessions?
In truth, it was again Ishan Kishan who looked the most fluent throughout the day. Kishan hit the nets early and batted twice – once in Net 4 with Tilak and once in Net 5 after Abhishek moved to bowl at Net 2 (Bumrah’s practice area). Kishan hit the ball with such force that the sound of it echoed through the empty stands of Eden. Abhishek Sharma will pick up where he left off in Kolkata. (Image: PTI)
Abhishek, in stark contrast to Kishan, looked rushed against cruise controls. Many times his feet did not move towards the ball. Perhaps the positive was that he didn’t force a shot after the beating. Instead, he tapped the ball down—perhaps imagining a single in his head.
However, the left-hander looked brilliant against the spinners. He attacked a corkscrew right arm secured by CAB and landed some clean punches.
IS BOWLING SHIVAM DUBE A WORRY?
India’s sixth bowler option has been a talking point in the last week, and rightly so. Dube was tested in Chennai against Zimbabwe where he failed miserably. However, the Indian management should be commended for putting enough overs on the all-rounder instead of feeding him straight into another difficult situation. Shivam Dube’s bowling against Zimbabwe was the main talking point. (Image: PTI)
Dube took on Kishan and Tilak early in the net, but that did not inspire much confidence among the reporters sitting in the press box on Saturday. He focused on bowling wide yorkers and bounced the shots interestingly.
Did he train RINKA WITH INDIA?
No. Rinku Singh did not practice with India on Saturday. He joined the team later in the evening on February 28. Ryan ten Doeschate expressed his condolences on behalf of the team at the start of the press conference and said that the team will be around him and offer support during this difficult time.
“From everyone in the team, our condolences go out to Rinku and his family. It’s obviously a very sad time when something like this happens. He hasn’t joined the team yet, but he’ll continue to get love and support from everyone in the group. He’s planning to join us later tonight and like I said, we need to get around him and help him through this very difficult time,” said the Indian assistant coach.
As of now, there are unlikely to be any changes to the Indian squad for their clash with the West Indies. The two-time champions will meet in the rematch of the 2016 tournament. In this edition, Daren Sammy’s men produced a famous victory over India to knock out the home favourites.
You could certainly sense from the intensity of today’s training that India are in no mood to let that happen again.
T20 World Cup | T20 World Cup Schedule | T20 World Cup Points Table | T20 World Cup Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
01 March 2026 04:01 IST
