Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Ishant Sharma shine on Day 2 of India's intra-squad match

Indian team is currently playing an intra-squad match in Southampton in a bid to prepare and acclimatize themselves better before squaring off against New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final from June 18-22.

The team had reached England in a charter plane on June 3 and has fulfilled the hard quarantine, thereby getting an allowance to practice, train and participate in the intra-squad game. While the four-day fixture is not being telecasted, the BCCI, through its official Twitter handle, has been letting out a few details since yesterday, when the game started.

Opener Shubman Gill (85 off 135) and Rishabh Pant (121* off 94) shone with the bat while Ishant Sharma claimed three wickets for 36 on Saturday, as the BCCI posted.

“It’s Day 2 of the intra-squad match simulation. After @RealShubmanGill got a steady start with 85 off 135 deliveries, @RishabhPant17 found his groove with a 121* off 94 deliveries. @ImIshant leads the pack with 3/36 #TeamIndia” read the post.

Earlier, the BCCI had posted a video that showed multiple moments from the game from day 1, where Pant could be seen hitting a straight six down the ground while Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami all bowled against their teammates in tandem.

WTC final gets underway on June 18

The top-two teams in the ICC Test rankings – India and New Zealand – will begin proceedings of the highly-anticipated clash from June 18 at the Ageas Bowl. Unlike India, who only have a simulation warm-up match to get into the rhythm, New Zealand is currently involved in a two-Test series against England.

While the first Test at Lord’s ended in a draw, thanks to a washout on day three, New Zealand has dominated the proceedings largely in Edgbaston in the second Test of the series. It is for this reason that a list of experts has given the advantage to India’s rivals as they have had an opportunity to get the game time right before the summit clash of the WTC cycle.

New Zealand will fly out of England post WTC final, while India will face hosts England for five Tests before the members leave for the UAE for their IPL duties.

It's Day 2 of the intra-squad match simulation.

After @RealShubmanGill got a steady start with 85 off 135 deliveries, @RishabhPant17 found his groove with a 121* off 94 deliveries.@ImIshant leads the pack with 3/36 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/YRNsVjweDt

— BCCI (@BCCI) June 12, 2021