India vs Leicestershire Day 1 Highlights: India 246/8 as rain causes early stumps in Leicester

Davis errs in line just slightly but it's enough for Shubman Gill to capitalise. Onto his pads and the Indian opener tucks it away on the legside for his second boundary. No fielder there and Gill makes the most of the wide vacant area on the on-side. After 4 overs, India are 14/0

First boundary of the match and for India as Shubman Gill caresses a cover drive wide of Cheteshwar Pujara. Lovely stroke by Gill, but a fine comeback from Bumrah as he beats the outside edge of the Indian opener. Swooshes into Pant's gloves. This is going to be something. India 10/0 after 3 overs.

WS Davis with his military medium pace not troubling Rohit much as the India captain taps the ball wide of gully for a couple of twos. Little movement for Davis as he squares up Rohit. India 5/0 after 2 overs. Alright then… Bumrah back.

This is really interesting. This Leicestershire side is filled with Indian stars and we got a view of what it's like seeing Bumrah bowling to his captain Rohit. Plenty of movement off the surface and Rohit takes a single to get of the mark. India 1/0 after the 1st over.

Rohit Sharma: It looks like a challenging pitch so we want to give a chance to try ourselves out on it. We are happy to be here and play ahead of the Test match starting 1st July. For us it's to be aware of the game situation, understanding what each individual needs to do. The series is on the line so very important to make sure we tick all boxes.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma has won the toss and has opted to bat in the four-day game. Today marks the completion of Rohit's 15 years in international cricket and while this may not be an official game, he has gotten the day off to a good start.

Last year, during the build-up to the India vs England Test series, Virat Kohli had decided to give the warm-up tie against the Select County XI a miss. This was after India had lost the World Test Championship final against New Zealand, and in Kohli's absence, it was Rohit leading the team. This time around though, the chances of it happening are very low, as this is the only practice game that stands between now and the July 1, start of the Edgbaston Test.

The match will begin at 3:00 PM IST, and as we mentioned, you can catch the live score and all updates on this space. Irrespective of which teams bat first, we will see Indians in action as Pujara and Pant are the two batters that will be playing for Leicestershire. And if the Indians bat, the two biggies, Rohit and Kohli will be up batting in swinging conditions.

It is still not clear whether Ashwin has landed in England. India initially announced a 17-member Test squad for the England Test, out of which 15 will be featuring in this warm-up game. Barring Ashwin, other absentee is of course KL Rahul, who injured his groin ahead of the South Africa T20Is at home and is currently in Germany for treatment.

Well, 2 things. It's an opportunity for the seniors to get their groove back, and second, it's a chance for the youngsters to push their case. The likes of Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are returning after a long break, while Shubman Gill will have a prove to point. Even Cheteshwar Pujara would be eager to show that dropping him from India's Test squad was a mistake. With three centuries in the County season, Pujara has returned to the Test fold and some handy practice here ahead of the England Test would be the ideal tonic for India's No. 3.

Leicestershire's YouTube page shared a video few hours back showing the Indian cricketers going about their paces. Rishabh Pant was seen in a jolly mood, while Rohit was seen keenly observing the proceedings. Pujara too dine some catching drills. The camera then panned towards the Indian nets, where Pant and Ravindra Jadeja were seen middling the ball with huge THUDS! It's already action-packed. 

Warm-up matches are always fun. Players may retire mid-way, and occasionally even field for the opposition. Something similar may happen across the next 4 days as four Indian players - Rishabh Pant, Cheteshwar Pujara, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna - will be turning up for Leicestershire. All three boards, LCCC, BCCI and the ECB have allowed it. Furthermore, the match will feature 13 players per side.

The big question surrounding the warm-up game is whether Virat Kohli will feature in this match? Leicestershire's Twitter handle had shared videos of Kohli batting and practicing in the nets with all sorts of witty and catchy captions. But it was reported that Kohli did not practice on the eve of the match. This may not be a deal breaker since it is pretty usual for all players to not practice. However, if and when he turns out, how he bats on his return to Test cricket will be right up there on everyone's mind. 

First thing's first. After a long time, all of India's star players will turn up together for a long tour ahead. India play England in three ODIs, three T20Is and of course, the important fifth Test of the series from last year. With India leading the series 2-1, they wouldn't want to squander the opportunity of a huge series win, which would be their first in England since 2007. Which is why the practice game against Leicestershire becomes all the more important today. 

Hello and a very warm welcome to everyone. Today we will bring you the first match from India's tour of England 2022 as the Indian take on Leicestershire in a four-day game. Although this won't count as an official game, it's significance cannot be undermined. Ahead of the all-important decisive fifth Test starting at Edgbaston on July 1, India's big shots will have a shot at red-ball cricket, which they aim to utilise to get acclimatised to the conditions in the UK. More importantly, this match marks the return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to professional cricket after both were rested for the home series against South Africa. Not much is at stake but at the same time, there's plenty to play for here.