"Feels good to be back with the boys"- Indian cricketers react to a fruitful tour match against Leicestershire
India played a four-day practice match against Leicestershire ahead of their rescheduled fifth Test versus the England team. This game helped the Indian players get accustomed to the English conditions, after having spent two months playing IPL matches on Indian pitches.
India visited England last year for a five-match ICC World Test Championship series, but the fifth game of the series did not happen as per the original schedule. Due to a COVID scare, the Indian squad left England early. BCCI later agreed to another tour of England in 2022, with one Test, three ODIs, and three T20Is.
A star-studded Indian squad reached the United Kingdom for the series against England. The officials planned a tour match for the visitors before the important Test. That game happened from June 23 to 26.
Interestingly, some of India's players took the field for both teams in the four-day game. Indian skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. KS Bharat's fifty helped India score 246/8 in their first innings. In reply, Leicestershire were bowled out for 244 runs.
Rishabh Pant was the top-scorer for Leicestershire with an 87-ball 76, while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami bagged three wickets each for the visitors. India batted better in the second innings and scored 364/7 in 92 overs.
Virat Kohli was the top-scorer in the second innings. The former India captain scored 67 runs off 98 deliveries while batting at number seven. Kohli hit five fours and two sixes in his knock. Shreyas Iyer and Jadeja scored fifties as well.
Jasprit Bumrah took the prized wicket of Kohli in the second innings. India's net bowlers for this tour - R Sai Kishore, Navdeep Saini, and Kamlesh Nagarkoti - also took wickets for Leicestershire in the second innings. The home team scored 219/4 in the second innings as the match ended in a draw.
Indian cricketers take to social media for reactions to the match vs Leicestershire
Here are some of the reactions from Indian players to their recently concluded tour match: