The intra-squad game did help India shake off a bit of rustiness. However, they are also aware of being in some kind of a disadvantage owing to the lack of a warm-up game against any of the county or local English sides before the World Test Championship final versus New Zealand in Southampton beginning Friday.
“Well, it is (a disadvantage),” agreed Cheteshwar Pujara during a virtual news conference on Tuesday.
“But this is something which we can’t control. It has been challenging times all over the world because of the pandemic, and you can’t have all the luxuries of extra time for your preparation. The game is still going on, that’s the most important part.
“For all of us, we are playing the final which is very important. Even if preparation time is less and maybe it’s little bit of a disadvantage for us, but if you are ready for the challenge, you can still do well in circumstances that aren’t too favourable.
“As a team, we are confident and our preparation is up to the mark. Maybe a few extra days would have helped us, but we can’t complain. We are ready for the final,” the India No.3 emphasised.
Elaborating on the team’s practice and areas of improvement, Pujara said that it’s about getting back into the rhythm for both batters and bowlers. “We have been in quarantine, but we’ve started our training and practice. So when we were out there in the middle, we wanted to make the most out of it.
“Alongside practice wickets, we had a centre wicket available too, which helped a fair amount in terms of match simulation. So we utilised the time really well.
“When you are in the middle, you want to make sure that the things which you’ve been working on at nets should come along,” Pujara said.
Pujara also acknowledged the role of the bowlers . “The reason we’ve reached the final is because of our bowling. They have been able to take 20 wickets and won so many Tests for us over a period of time,” he stressed.
Mayank, Axar left out
India have stuck with the opening combination of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill with both Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul left out of the 15-man WTC final squad.
Alongside Mayank and Rahul, left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who was sensational in his debut series versus
England, pacer Shardul Thakur and all-rounder Washington Sundar have also been omitted from the squad which features Wriddhiman Saha as the second wicketkeeper-batsman.