India vs Leicestershire warm-up game: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli fail to score big on day 1

Leicester, June 23: India cricketers started their preparations for the one-off remaining Test against England with a four-day warm-up match against Leicestershire on Thursday (June 23) at Grace Road, Leicester.

India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first in the game where star players Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasidh Krishna were added to the rival Leicestershire County Cricket Club (LCCC) squad under the leadership of county captain Sam Evans. The match is being played with 13 players per side to deliver further variations and help manage bowling workloads.

Openers Rohit and Shubman Gill started the proceedings with the bat for the tourists on day one. Gill started batting on a positive note and hit a couple of boundaries early in the innings. The right-handed batter, however, didn't stay long into the middle and was dismissed for 21 off 28 balls, including four boundaries. Gill was caught behind by Pant off Will Davis.

Rohit was the second wicket India lost when the captain was dismissed for 25 off 47 balls. The Mumbaikar's knock was studded with three boundaries. Hanuma Vihari too went towards the pavilion for three after facing 23 balls.

However, former India skipper Virat Kohli, who stepped into the middle to a rousing reception from the little audience present at the venue, looked in good touch. The batting maestro spent the necessary time in the middle and warmed up nicely. He reached 33 off 66 before a short spell of rain stopped the play. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer too joined the rest of the batters in the dressing room after getting dismissed for a duck. Ravindra Jadeja could only score 13 before he was trapped in front by Rovman Walker.

Kohli looked in control and even played a brilliant pull shot off Prasidh Krishna just before the skies opened up. He shared a fifty-plus stand with KS Bharat for the sixth wicket. But the right-handed batsman was trapped in front for 69 soon after the play was resumed. However, the batsman wasn't pleased with the umpire's decision. Walker got the wicket of the Indian batting mainstay. Later, Bharat went on notching up a half-century.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav.

Leicestershire CCC: Sam Evans (Captain), Rehan Ahmed, Sam Bates (wk), Nat Bowley, Will Davis, Joey Evison, Louis Kimber, Abi Sakande, Roman Walker, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna.