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It was an optional practice session for Team India but it didn’t feel like one thanks to Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Jasprit Bumrah. There were others like Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, and captain Rohit Sharma present at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru but it was Gill, Iyer and Bumrah who hogged the limelight. Gill was in celebratory mode. He became the No.1 batter in the ODI rankings, displacing Pakistan’s Babar Azam from the top spot after more than two years, in the afternoon and about an hour or two later, he batted like one in the nets.
Gill was at his absolute best against Thakur, Krishna and Siraj, taking the Indian seamers to the cleaners ahead of India’s last league match in World Cup 2023 against the Netherlands at this venue on Sunday. He showed no mercy when the local net bowlers came on, hitting them into the stands multiple times. It was Bumrah, who troubled Gill during India’s practice session on Wednesday.
Lethal Bumrah a cut above the rest
That Bumrah is a cut above the rest was on show yet again. Bumrah tested Gill’s skills with an assortment of slower balls and in the channel outside the off-stump. There was no let-up from India’s pace spearhead. His pace was up, his lengths were immaculate and even the No.1 ODI batter had his hands full while tackling him. Forget about the nets confining them and the leisurely clothes, Gill vs Bumrah was nothing short of high-quality Test match cricket.
Ishan Kishan got a first-hand feel of what the opposition openers have been dealing with throughout this World Cup when a Bumrah short of a good length delivery hit the left-hander on his stomach. He slumped to the ground, wincing in pain. It took him a few minutes to recover and resume the training, reported news agency PTI.
With not much gap between the Netherlands match and India’s semi-final either on November 15th or November 16th (only if Pakistan qualify), the chances are high that Bumrah might be rested on Sunday but the pacer was in no mood to let his intensity fall.
Shami has run through opponents in the last four matches but Bumrah has been the unplayable rock with the new ball. He has an economy rate of 2.9 in the powerplay in this World Cup with a dot ball percentage of over 80. Bumrah just doesn’t give any opportunity to the batters to score and he didn’t give any to the Indian batters that faced him in the nets on Wednesday.
Shreyas Iyer impresses
Apart from Gill, there was another Indian batter who impressed and that is Shreyas Iyer The confidence he has drawn from his consecutive fifties in the last two matches was evident in the way he tackled the bowlers in the nets. He was severe against the spinners, hitting them for huge sixes.
He also had a lengthy chat with captain Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid on short ball tactics. He may have gone public claiming he has no issues against the bouncer barrage but his practice sessions say otherwise. There hasn’t been a single nets session in this World Cup where Iyer hasn’t honed his skills against the short-pitched deliveries.
The ones who gave this optional session a miss were Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami. Rohit, despite being present, did not bat or bowl. He, however, played an active role in having multiple discussions with the players and the support staff.
The Indian team reached the city on Tuesday after defeating South Africa by 243 runs at Kolkata and enjoyed an off day. The Rohit Sharma-led team also became the first team to reach the semifinals of the World Cup.
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