Hamilton: As the three-day practice game against New Zealand XI came to an end on Sunday, India skipper Virat Kohli posted a photo with Prithvi Shaw and Mohammed Shami.
The skipper posted the picture on Twitter and came up with a quirky caption: “Naya post, Sundar dost (New post, beautiful friend)”. All three are giving goofy expressions in the photo which will surely bring a smile on the faces of their fans.
In the practice game, Kohli did not come out to bat in either innings and gave chances to all other members of the squad.
Shaw managed to score 39 runs in the match after being bowled out for a duck in the first innings.
Meanwhile, Shami took three wickets in his 10 overs.
India won the T20 series 5-0 against the Kiwis but had to face a whitewash in the 50-over format.
The first Test between India and New Zealand will be played at Wellington from February 21.
Meanwhile, India’s Mayank Agarwal is all confident of taking his good form in the Tests against New Zealand and said that he has worked on the areas he needs to improve.
“It’s been a little different playing here but I want to leave all that behind whatever has happened. Yes, I got an 81 in the second innings of this practice game and I want to take this confidence forward into the Test match,” Agarwal told reporters.
Agarwal did say that he had sessions with batting coach Vikram Rathour to sort out the technical glitches that might have cropped into his batting.
“Vikram sir and me, we have sat down and spoken about the areas where we need to improve. Yes, we have worked on it. After I got out in the first innings, I went back behind the nets, did a lot of drills. I am happy, whatever I have worked on is coming good now.
“Just being a little too closed. That’s just one part of it. But it is what it is and I don’t want to discuss too much about it. Yes, we worked on and we’ve moved forward and I would leave all that behind. It’s just one of those things that has happened while batting and I am glad that we are able to rectify it and move ahead.
“There’s no point thinking about what’s happened. Obviously, I can’t bring that back. The last thing I can tell myself is yes, I have got 81 not out here and I can carry that into the Test match. I got a couple of on-drives in this innings and as a batsman, you know that you have to be doing a lot of things correct to hit an on-drive. When I got a couple of those, it gave me the assurance that was required.”
Agarwal and Shaw are likely to be the new opening pair in Wellington and the latter is confident that communication between them will work wonders for him.
