Haren
After the warm-up routines — the usual sprinting, stretching and an intense football session — the players and support staff converged into a huddle behind the nets. Head coach Gautam Gambhir did most of the talking, while Rohit Sharma intervened a few times. The group scattered briefly, only to form another huddle, this time to the side of the nets. This time, it featured only the players plus Gambhir. It was equally long, 20 minutes had ticked by. Both were quiet affairs, the players listening and nodding to the coach’s speech.
A tough loss for #TeamIndia in Pune.
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/YVjSnKCtlI #INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/PlU9iJpGih
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2024
On the opposite side of the ground, an army of net bowlers waited for their chance to bowl. As many as 35, mostly spinners, had assembled to bowl at their idols in skin-peeling heat. Inspired by the Indian team perhaps, the herdsman of the group, asked them to huddle up. Most walked in disinterestedly, an eye fixed on what the players were doing, ears sharpened to hear the summons from the Indian team. The moment it came, they spread out like pigeons upon a gunshot, even as their in-charge was only midway through the speech. With 35 net bowlers, their coaches, the Indian team, the standbys and the support staff on the ground at the same, the ground-staff and the broadcasters setting wires and cameras, the Wankhede resembled a selection trial venue, noisy and chaotic.
India will take on New Zealand in the 3rd and final Test which will start on November 1 at the Wankhede. With New Zealand leading the series, 0-2, the hosts will be looking to avoid a whitewash in Mumbai.
