The Indian cricket team have already kick-started their preparations for the much-awaited Test series with England, by playing a three-day warm-up game against Essex County Club. The match didn’t pan out exactly as the visitors expected with both teams settling for a draw. But that didn’t stop the Men in Blue from having a good time on the final day.
In a beautiful gesture, the visiting team were given a traditional welcome by the Essex County Club on the third day of the warm-up match. The duo of Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, who are known as the livewires of the team, lived up to that tag. They responded brilliantly by entertaining the crowd with an impromptu dance while entering the field of play.
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In a video posted on Twitter by Essex County Cricket Club, Kohli and Dhawan could be seen doing bhangra steps, while the players were welcomed to the ground by traditional dhol beats.
Two @BCCI players have enjoyed their time at Chelmsford!
Well played, @imVkohli & @SDhawan25! 👏👏👏#ESSvIND pic.twitter.com/Uz8W7p2xoh
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) July 27, 2018
Earlier, a group of dancers clad in colourful clothes danced the bhangra to giving a traditional welcome to Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya as they took the field to bat on the first day.
The two batters make their way to the ground with a traditional welcome by the locals.#ESSvIND pic.twitter.com/uqqPt9pOvl
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 26, 2018
The lack of runs from during the warm-up match and an injury scare to Ravichandran Ashwin might have compounded to the Indian cricket team’s woes. However, the Virat Kohli led-side looked in a far relaxed mood ahead of the five-match Test series.
Recently, the southpaw Shikhar Dhawan recently posted a picture with his team-mates Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara on social media which stamped their bromance. The picture shows Dhawan striking an animated pose while standing in the slips alongside Pujara and skipper Kohli.
Kaise na ho gujara.. jab saath ho Kohli aur Pujara! pic.twitter.com/7SXrm8kShf
— Shikhar Dhawan (@SDhawan25) July 27, 2018
The Indian cricketers are focussed hard on recuperating as they will be desperate to change their Test record in England, owing to the humiliating loss the suffered the last time they toured in England in 2014. Given their recent ODI series loss, Men in Blue are desperate to bounce back in the longest format of the game which is slated to get underway from August 1 at Edgbaston.