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'Onto the whites,' says Virat Kohli as India hit the nets ahead of resuming push for 2nd consecutive WTC final spot
India are set to face Bangladesh as they begin their final push to reach the 2023 World Test Championship Final.
India are set to begin their final push for a second consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) Final spot when they face Bangladesh from December 14 in Chattogram. The series consists of two Test matches, with the second game to be held in Dhaka from December 22. This is India's first Test since July this year and their first Test series involving more than one match in Bangladesh since 2010.
With regular skipper Rohit Sharma out with an injury he sustained while fielding during the second ODI of the tour in Bangladesh, KL Rahul will be leading the team. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted photos of the players in the nets preparing for the match, as did former captain Virat Kohli.
“Onto the whites,” said Kohli in his caption to the post on Instagram. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who had led the India A team in their recent tour of Bangladesh for two unofficial Test matches, can also be seen in the nets. Easwaran has been roped in as replacement for Rohit in the squad. “Covering all bases, #TeamIndia trained in Chattogram ahead of our 1st Test against Bangladesh. Snapshots from our training session,” said the BCCI in its tweet.
India made a disappointing start to the tour, losing the three-match ODI series 2-1. However, the visitors' sole win was a rather emphatic one in the third ODI. A historic double century from Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli's 44th ODI ton had helped India score 409/8 batting first in the third ODI. Bangladesh were then stifled for runs by the likes of Axar Patel, Umran Malik and Shardul Thakur and eventually lost the match by 227 runs.
Kishan, who was playing in the dead rubber only because India skipper Rohit Sharma had been sidelined through injury, raced to a double century in 126 balls to become only the seventh batsman to score 200 in ODIs. Rohit has three 200-plus knocks in ODIs and holds the record of 264. Kishan eventually fell for 210 after blasting past his first century in this format. Kishan's 131-ball blitz included 10 sixes and 24 fours, and completely overshadowed Virat Kohli's 113 off 91 balls. The duo put on a massive 290 runs to power India to their fourth-highest ODI total of 409-8.
