Kotla Practice
RCB has their first practice session in Delhi, which focussed more on fielding and bowling to open stumps. In the evening, physio Evans's wedding anniversary cake was found on his face!
Among the first sights of the day was Cheteshwar Pujara was walking around with the skipping rope or probably some sort of a body stretch contraption. Literally looked like a human slingshot! Maybe Cheteshwar’s into innovative routines… gotta check with strength and conditioning coach what he’s planning for Chet.
Bharat Narayan, the promising lad from Mysore streamed in today. Hmm… good to see a local lad being asked to fly down at a time when the team’s on a high. Bharat was on about swimming being his chief interest apart from cricket. It took him a while to get his luggage sorted at the hotel while he chatted with teammates.
Meanwhile Johan Van der Wath and AB de Villiers appeared in their casuals. After exchanging some pleasantries with the marketing team of RCB, off they went... probably to the gym.
The evening session was to be occupied by practice at the Feroz Shah Kotla. The players arrived at the ground and played a game of football to warm up. They were divided into two teams, one being given light blue vests and the others none.
Virat Kohli was always throwing his arms up in the air about something his opposite number Tilakaratne Dilshan was doing. All in good humour, the two accused each other of not following the rules! Some high fives were exchanged in the end. The whole team was having a good laugh looking at two stars from across the Palk straits having a go at each other like Class IV schoolboys.
Shortly after, Virat went to the physio Evans Speechley for a stomach-down massage. Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad made Arvind and Mithun bowl to the stumps while he supervised from the wicket keeper’s position. In the distance, Ray Jennings simultaneously hammered long catches to some lads, while combining it with fielding practice.
Mohammed Kaif’s class could be seen during the fielding effort. Many of the players consciously employed the slide-fielding technique. Meanwhile, AB de Villiers pulled in Johan Van der Wath as the two took turns at getting a ‘knock’ by the side.
Dilshan took off to get some net batting practice from the local pace bowlers. There was some logistical misgiving about an extra set of nets not being employed on the main ground, however, the issue is being sorted out so that players get the additional facility on Monday.
Back at the hotel, it was not all over, as an anniversary cake had been kept ready for Evans Speechley. Soon, Virat, Kaif and other enthusiasts had his face smeared in the cake. Everybody enjoyed the light heartedness of the ‘session.’ A great way to unwind!
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