ICC Cricket World Cup 2023: Team India took a day break after winning big against Pakistan

Team India will face Bangladesh on 19th October in Pune.

After winning first three matches in style, hosts India have raised expectations for the rest of the tournament. Team India have defeated Australia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan in their first three league games in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. After decimating their arch-rivals Pakistan at Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Ahmedabad, India will face off with their eastern neighbour Bangladesh at MCA Stadium in Pune on Thursday.

Team India took a day-off

Team India arrived in Pune on Sunday after playing Pakistan in Ahmedabad and took a day break in their preparations. BCCI sources have confirmed that the team arrived in Pune and had a break for a day. There was no practice session on Monday, but the team will head back to MCA Ground on Tuesday to begin their preparations for Bangladesh game. Although Indian players were on a day break, coach Rahul Dravid was on duty.

As the team India was resting in their hotel rooms to enjoy their holiday, Indian team head coach Rahul Dravid visited the MCA Stadium in Pune to assess the conditions and pitch for the next game. Indian coach Rahul Dravid visited the MCA ground and had a chat with the pitch curator and ground staff to discuss the conditions. Pune’s new stadium will host its first ever World Cup game, and Dravid wanted to assess the dimensions of MCA Stadium.

Pune offers batters good assistance

Pune’s MCA Stadium wicket offers great assistance for the batters. Teams have often gone past the 300-runs mark in these conditions. But a fresh wicket for the World Cup game between India and Bangladesh will be something to look out for. The last ODI game at this venue was played between England and India in March 2021. It was a high-scoring game, and India won the encounter by just 7 runs. India posted 329 runs and restricted England to 322.

Indian bowlers put up a stellar performance against Pakistan and came back nicely after Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s 82-runs stand. Pakistan were restricted to 191 runs after being 155 for 2 at one stage. Bangladesh have lost their previous two games and have just two points in three games. Bangladesh won their opening game against Afghanistan and lost two successive games against England in Dharamshala and New Zealand in Chennai, respectively.