Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
No holiday for Rahul Dravid. On Team India's day off, head coach still on duty before Bangladesh match in Pune
The India head coach was still on duty while all other members of the team were taking a day off on Monday ahead of their World Cup match vs Bangladesh in Pune.
The Indian cricketers took a day off from training after reaching Pune before their fourth match in World Cup 2023 against Bangladesh on October 19. They landed in Pune on Sunday afternoon amid loud receptions and headed straight to their hotel rooms. There was no practice session on Monday with BCCI confirming that the team will hit the nets only on Tuesday evening. After the kind of performance the Indian team put on in front of the biggest crowd of this World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday against Pakistan, it was a well-earned holiday. But not for Rahul Dravid. The India head coach was still on duty while all other members of the team were taking a day off on Monday.
Just like had done in Ahmedabad before the Pakistan match, Dravid headed straight to the venue - the MCA Stadium in Pune - to have a look at the surface on offer. Dravid spent some time with the curators and ground staff discussing the nature of the pitch. Dravid's move makes sense more so because this will be the first match of this World Cup in Pune and naturally, there is that unknown factor looming large.
Of course, there is history to look back to, which suggests that runs are likely to flow like water from an open tap. Of the 14 innings at this venue in ODIs, 8 times a batting team has crossed the 300-run mark. The last time an ODI was played here, both teams - India and England got more than 300 runs with the former emerging on top by 7 runs.
The likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul would be hoping that they get a similar kind of pitch on Thursday to carry on with the run-scoring spree. Rohit has been on a six-hitting mission in this tournament so far. He has already hit as many as 11 sixes in the tournament in just three innings.
But there is another important factor that must be taken into consideration before passing a judgement on the nature of the Pune pitch. The kind of spoil that will be used can make a whole lot of difference in how the pitch might behave. If it's the red solid then chances are high that the ball might grip and turn a bit more than usual but if it's black soil, then runs should flow.
India and Bangladesh have gotten off to contrasting starts in this tournament. India have won all their three matches against Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan quite convincingly and sit on top of the points table at the time of writing this. Bangladesh, on the other hand, beat Afghanistan in their opening match but went down to New Zealand and England.
What would keep the Bangladesh think tank worried is the fitness of their captain Shakib Al Hasan, who hurt himself during their last match against New Zealand.
