India vs West Indies: New drills, new thrills for Team India as need for speed rises

HYDERABAD: The Virat Kohli-led Indian team that arrived here in batches late on Tuesday hit the ground running, with special focus on speed drills during their first practice session at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Wednesday.
Ahead of the first T20I against Windies to be held here on Friday, Kohli and Co. wasted no time in trying out the new element of their session - speed conditioning introduced by the team's new strength and conditioning coach Nick Webb.
The Indian players were seen doing the usual short sprint stuff simultaneously in two batches, standing one behind the other.
At times, the queue in front had a handkerchief placed on the back of their shorts and those in the second line would try to chase down and pluck it out.
All this in an effort to develop speed and to keep one at bay while being chased.
And there was the usual fun and banter too at the training session that stretched into the evening on another day of overcast skies.
Former India captain and Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) president Mohammad Azharuddin seemed satisfied with the pitch and spent some time discussing conditions with curator YL Chandrasekhar.
The HCA officials hope the conditions remain the same with no rain despite the heavy skies, and that the city gets to witness some action in only its second T20I - the first between India and Australia was washed out without a ball being bowled two years ago.
The home ground of Sunrisers Hyderabad has been partial to the batsmen the last few years but with the winter chill having set in, dew may play a role. Meanwhile, the Windies players trained for the second day and it was obvious by their preparation that they were focusing on countering the Indian spinners.
Unlike on Tuesday, the visiting side trained in the morning on Wednesday. Keeping in mind the wiles of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, the visitors put in extra effort. "They were focusing on facing the wrist spinners," said a former Hyderabad Ranji player, who was seen helping them.