Chennai: Seven Indian players led by senior pro Yuvraj Singh slogged it out at the IIT Chemplast ground on Wednesday, during an optional training session that lasted for two hours and 15 minutes.
India will take on West Indies in their final group league encounter on Sunday. The home team who have seven points from five games will like to end the group league proceedings on a high before the real test starts. Also the fact that a defeat may create problems aplenty is something that Dhoni and Co will keep in mind.
While seniors like skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan chose to remain indoors for the second successive day, the likes of Yuvraj along with Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, R.Ashwin, Piyush Chawla and Munaf Patel had a serious session under the watchful eyes of coach Gary Kirsten and mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton.
Kirsten was seen spending quality time with Virat Kohli and Yusuf Pathan--both of whom has had a tough time in the last couple of games.
After all the batsmen had a decent knock at the nets, it was time for some throw-downs by Kirsten. Munaf also bowled for long time. Upton was also seen interacting with the players.
All eyes will however be on local boy Ravichandran Ashwin who has not got a game till now. The Chepauk track which promises to offer a lot of turn may suit the lanky offie who knows the condition like the back of his hand.
With Piyush Chawla putting up an ordinary show and the three-pacer theory backfiring in Nagpur during their loss to South Africa, the Indian crowd may get to watch Ashwin bowling his `carrom balls` which he has used a lot during his successful stint with the Chennai Super Kings in IPL.