BAN vs IND: Virat Kohli trains in nets after India's Chattogram Test triumph

When speaking of a dedicated sportsman, the first name that pops into everyone’s mind is former India skipper Virat Kohli. The 34-year-old is a fitness freak and works on improving his game each and every day. Everyone knows how seriously Kohli takes his game and his form, and he showed a glimpse of the same after the end of India’s first Test against Bangladesh on Sunday, December 18.

India clinched a dominating victory over hosts Bangladesh in the first Test and took a 1-0 lead in the two-match series on Sunday, the fifth day of the first game. The win was very much required for the Indian side after the disheartening 2-1 defeat in the ODI series which concluded recently. Kohli, who had not been at his best in the first two ODIs bounced back stronger in the third game and notched up a magnificent century.

Riding high on confidence, his plans with the bat for the first Test were ruined when Taijul Islam dismissed him very early, for just 1(5). In the second innings, India declared the innings when Kohli was on 19*(29), thanks to the centuries by Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara that helped India extend their lead massively.

As soon as the first Test concluded in Chattogram, Kohli started training for the next game. He was all padded up, and did not take a break after the first game as he hit the nets and got going. In a video shared by RevSportz, Kohli was seen training alongside wicketkeeper-batter Srikar Bharat, who is a part of the squad.

Here’s the video:

.@imVkohli was seen batting in the nets just after the completion of the 1st test between @BCCI & @BCBtigers here at Chittagong.
Watch here 👇 how he has already started his preparations for the 2nd test.@AgeasFederal @debasissen @BoriaMajumdar @CricSubhayan #BANvIND #WTC23 pic.twitter.com/UthqZZ2gvU

— RevSportz (@RevSportz) December 18, 2022

India make their WTC Finals case stronger

Speaking of how the first game panned out, India put up 404 runs in the first innings, thanks to a 203-ball 90 by Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara and tremendous contributions from Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin. Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj kept India in the driver’s seat in the second innings as they cleaned up Bangladesh’s batting order.

Having a 254-run lead in hand, India declared the second innings at 258/2 after Gill and Pujara’s centuries. As a result, Bangladesh were handed a target of 513 runs to chase in their final innings. Brilliant bowling display from spinners Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav helped India win the game by a whopping 188 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the series.

The win helped India grab the important points in the WTC points table and jump to third place. Later in the day, South Africa's loss against Australia handed India a boost as they jumped another place up to second place.