Lack of rooms delays Virat Kohli and Co arrival in Cuttack

After an emphatic come from behind victory by the Men in Blue in the opening, ODI against England at Pune, Virat Kohli, and Co are set to stay in Pune till Wednesday morning despite the first ODI getting over on Sunday and both the teams will meet to play the 2nd ODI in Cuttack on Thursday. ‘Lack of hotel rooms in Cuttack’ will see them stay in Pune and prepare for the 2nd encounter of the series. The hotel where the team is supposed to stay is already booked for wedding purposes and will be available only on Thursday morning.

During an exclusive interaction with Cricket Next, Orissa Cricket Association Secretary Ashirbad Behera said that lack of hotel rooms has forced the team to stay back in Pune. “The team will be coming to Cuttack on Wednesday morning at 11:30 am and train around 4 pm in the afternoon. Actually, the hotel is overbooked till Tuesday and there are no rooms available for the teams. But rooms are available from Wednesday and so the delay in the travel plans,” he informed.

A member of the Indian team management said that the boys will start training in Pune from Tuesday after a day’s break following their exceptional victory. “No training is scheduled on Monday and the team will train on Tuesday in Pune. We will travel to Cuttack the day after,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Next.

When asked about the preparation for the 2nd ODI at the Barabati Stadium, Behera said, “Everything is in order and we are hoping that the match will be a great success just like the first ODI in Pune. As for the hotels, we can’t really help when it comes to these things. We can only book rooms when we have it available.

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He further added, “Both the England team — led by Eoin Morgan — and the Indian team put up a brilliant show on Sunday and we hope the crowds are going to have a great time on Thursday. We have sold the tickets and the fans in the city can’t wait to watch Kohli and the boys put up a great show.”

Courtesy brilliant centuries from Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav India chased down the victory target of 351 with 4 wickets and 11 balls to spare. Considering that they were 63/4 at one stage, it was a special effort from Kohli and Jadhav.