July 20, 2021 will go down as an important date in the history of Indian cricket as it officially marked the day when two Indian teams played in different parts of the world against different oppositions. The Rohit Sharma-led Indian side started their England tour preparations in a three-day first-class match against County Select XI in Durham while Shikhar Dhawan led the Indian ODI side in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
There was no surprise to see the Indian side in England was busy watching online streaming of the youngsters in action in Sri Lanka. BCCI shared a photo of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Umesh Yadav, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Mohammed Siraj and Axar Patel watching the India vs Sri Lanka 2nd ODI from Durham.
“Team India watching Team India,” BCCI captioned the photo on Instagram
BCCI had decided to prepare two different Indian teams to avoid travel due to Covid-19 regulations. Dhawan was appointed captain of the India limited-overs side in Sri Lanka which had six fresh faces and Rahul Dravid as head coach. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri remained in England with most of the top stars preparing for the five-match Test series against England, starting on August 4.
{{/usCountry}}BCCI had decided to prepare two different Indian teams to avoid travel due to Covid-19 regulations. Dhawan was appointed captain of the India limited-overs side in Sri Lanka which had six fresh faces and Rahul Dravid as head coach. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri remained in England with most of the top stars preparing for the five-match Test series against England, starting on August 4.
{{/usCountry}}India had different outings in Durham and Colombo. The red-ball side, minus Kohli and Rahane, who were ruled out due to injuries rode on KL Rahul’s century and Ravindra Jadeja’s fifty to cross 250 with five wickets still in the bank. They had lost four wickets for 107 but since then Rahul and Jadeja stitched a wonderful stand. The right-hander retired out after scoring 101.
In Colombo, the young Indian side’s hopes rested on Suryakumar Yadav after they lost their top-order cheaply while chasing 276 for a series-clinching victory in the 2nd ODI.