T20 World Cup 2021: Team India sharpen their fielding skills with a never seen before drill ahead of New Zealand clash

Team India will have a point to prove as they take on New Zealand in their next game in the T20 World Cup 2021. The high-voltage clash takes place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (October 31). Having lost their opening game by 10 wickets against arch-rivals Pakitsan, the Men in Blue would be under the pump and a defeat against the Kiwis would largely hamper their chances of going through the semi-final stage.

Pakistan have almost sealed a semi-final berth with three wins on the trot. Hence, only one other team from Group 2 will join the Men in Green. With Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia being the other three teams, either India or New Zealand are most likely to get through. Owing to the same, many are viewing this contest as a virtual knock-out.

Virat Kohli and men sharpen their fielding skills

Hence, India have all the reasons to unleash their A-game against the Kiwis. Their preparation pretty much looks on song as the Indian players were spotted sweating it out in end. The athletes also engaged themselves in an intriguing rather unique practice drill. In a video shared by the International Cricket Council (ICC), Virat Kohli and his men polished their catching skills in a never-seen-before manner.

As per a drill, an individual will throw the ball high up in the air through a tennis racquet. Then a player wearing a helmet will juggle the ball with his head. The challenge is for the fielders standing around the helmet-wearing player. They have to catch the ball after it got deflected from the helmet. Moreover, they can only use their left hand.

The drill was as challenging as it sounds as many Indian fields struggled to execute it. In fact, only off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was able to take the one-handed catch in the entire clip. “Name this training drill #T20WorldCup,” ICC captioned the clip.

 

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Meanwhile, India have to defy history as they have never defeated New Zealand in T20 World Cup before. Their first challenge would be identifying their best playing XI. Questions have been raised over Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s place in the line-up. Hence, it would be interesting to see what strategy India will opt for.