IND vs ENG 2022: 3 takeaways from India's warm-up match against Leicestershire
India kicked off their tour of England with a four-day practice match against Leicestershire. The match ended in a draw, but almost all the Indian players got some valuable practice in the middle ahead of the important Test against England.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. India posted 246/8 on the board before declaring their innings. In reply, Leicestershire were all out for 244 runs, conceding a lead of two runs. India added 364 runs to their lead and set a 367-run target for Leicestershire.
The home side scored 219/4 in their second innings as the match ended in a draw. Most of the Indian players had a good outing against Leicestershire. In this article, we will look at the top three takeaways for India from their four-day tour match.
#1 KS Bharat seems ready for Test cricket
The Indian batters had a tough time in the middle on the opening day of the tour match. Uncapped player Roman Walker wrecked the Indian batting lineup with a five-wicket haul, but wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat stepped up and delivered the goods for the visitors.
Batting at No.7, Bharat aggregated 70 runs off 111 deliveries for the Indian team. He smashed eight fours and a six in his knock to help India inch closer to the 250-run mark.
Later in the match, Bharat opened the batting for India with Shubman Gill in the second innings. He played an impressive knock of 43 runs from 98 balls, hitting seven fours.
If Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the Test against England, India can think of using Bharat as an opener for the big game.
#2 Virat Kohli looked in great touch against Leicestershire
Virat Kohli was the captain of India during their previous tour of England. Under his captaincy, India won two Tests against the English side and took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. While Kohli is unlikely to lead the team in the rescheduled fifth Test, he can still play a role in the team's success by scoring runs with the willow.
He scored 100 runs in two innings of the tour match against Leicestershire. After a patient 33-run knock in the first innings, Kohli scored 67 runs off 98 balls in the second essay.
Interestingly, he hit three sixes in two innings, hinting that he is willing to take more risks to score runs for his team.
#3 Ravindra Jadeja's all-round show
Ravindra Jadeja had a forgettable IPL season with the Chennai Super Kings this year. He struggled to perform well as a captain and an all-rounder. Midway through the season, he was ruled out due to an injury.
Jadeja made his return to the cricket field in the match against Leicestershire. He scored only 13 runs in the first innings but scored a fifty in the second essay. The Saurashtra-born cricketer also picked up four wickets for the team across two innings.
Jadeja seems to have cemented his place in the Indian playing XI for the Edgbaston Test with that performance.