India’s practice match against Essex before England Test series curtailed

Team India’s only practice match against Essex before England Test series curtailed from four days to three days due to sub-standard pitch and outfield conditions.

The Indian tour of England has been quite happening thus far. It was a gripping series which showed India take the three-match T20I series 2-1.

While England bounced back in the ODI series and won it 2-1. India started well in the initial part of the two but they started drifting away with time. The team lost back to back matches at Lords and Leeds.

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The Indian middle order was a cause of concern for the team as once the openers got out the Indian team looked a bit stuck in the middle.

The Indian team will now play a practice match against Essex from the 25th July. After that match there will be a small gap as the first Test against England begins from the 1st of August.

However, the length of the match has been curtailed from four days to three days so that the team could reach Birmingham on time and get used to the conditions.

Journalist Chetan Narula broke the news on twitter. He wrote, “India’s four-day practice game vs Essex has been reduced to a three-day game… now will be played from Wednesday to Friday, instead of Wednesday to Saturday. Team management wants to reach Birmingham early and prepare for first Test.”

The reason that has been reported for the change is the sub-standard pitch and outfield conditions. Indian coach Ravi Shastri was spotted in a heated discussion with the local officials. Shastri’s point was that the conditions had the potential of causing injury to players.