Dhoni and Rahul sweat it out in the nets while others skipped practice ahead of the second ODI

After a wonderful run chase in the first ODI in Pune, the Indian team along with the visitors England arrived in Bhubaneswar a day before the second ODI to be played in Cuttack. Both teams had to extend their stay in Pune due to the unavailability of the rooms in the hotel of Bhubaneshwar where the teams stay for the Cuttack games.

There was a huge gathering of fans in the Barabati stadium to witness their favourite players’ training. But to their disappointment, only three of them turned up in the nets. Apart from MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul, everyone else decided to skip the optional practice session.

Three of them batted for close to 2 hours in the nets and had the procedural pitch inspection. All others including the captain Virat Kohli chose to take the day off before the second ODI. Dhoni and Rahul had a forgettable first game with the bat and hence they must be looking to make amends in the next one whereas Rahane would be ready to grab any opportunity he is presented with.

The visitors, on the other hand, had a great time with the bat but their bowlers could not cope with the might of Virat Kohli and the latest star of Indian cricket, Kedar Jadhav and were simply blown away by the counter-attack of the duo.

Contrary to India, they had a full practice session as it will be a do or die situation in the second match for them. A loss there would seal the series for the home side. However, their practice session was delayed by an hour after their luggage arrived late at the airport, as per an England team official.

It is quite unusual to see the teams arriving at the venue with just one day to go for the match. But according to the Odisha Cricket Association CEO Bidyut Kumar Nayak who was quoted as saying to PTI, “It was something that had been finalized by the BCCI. The teams do not have any problem in arriving on the eve of the match”.

The last ODI in Cuttack was played between India and Sri Lanka in 2014 which the hosts won by 169 runs with the openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane scoring centuries. They will once again look to clinch the game at that venue and win the ODI series with a game in hand.