On Friday, under lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, another glimpse of the box-office duel between the precocious teen and seasoned operator was on view. This came in a mere practice session for the Indian team ahead of the first T20I against Afghanistan on Sunday, but the intensity of the battle was enchanting nevertheless. Sooryavanshi and Bumrah haven’t yet featured for India together.
Sooryavanshi had to be fairly measured on Friday evening, for Bumrah hit his straps and tested the young left-hander with the lengths that he found. The 32-year-old beat Sooryavanshi all ends up on one occasion with a peach on a good length, and also nailed his yorkers most of the time. Sooryavanshi wasn’t fazed, however, as he unfurled a delightful punch off the back foot later.
For Bumrah, it was largely about finding his groove after an injury layoff. He had hurt his left knee during the ODI series against England in July, and had failed to recover in time for the recent Test series versus Sri Lanka. He bowled in the nets for nearly 45 minutes.
The training stint was attended by the entire 15-member squad. After a light drizzle, India was in buoyant mood as it started with elaborate fielding drills. With fielding coach Subhadeep Ghosh, who took over from T. Dilip in August, encouraging the players with the enthusiasm of a recent hire, flat and high catches as well as ground fielding were practised rigorously.
If greater emphasis on the fielding seemed noticeable, it may be to address India’s sloppiness on the tour of the United Kingdom in June-July. A number of catches were spilled as Shreyas Iyer & Co. suffered series defeats to both Ireland and England.
