After getting decent batting practice in the first warm-up match against Leicestershire, Indian team is set to face Derbyshire in the second tour game at the County Ground on Tuesday. This is the final practice game before the Indian team takes on England in the first of the five-match Test series, starting on 9 July.
Indian pacers were hammered by the second division county team in the last match, and that is the reason why this match is very important for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side. Angus Robson and Greg Smith made the mockery of the Indian attack and thrashed them all over the park.
Ishant Sharma struggled to find rhythm and bowled wayward in the entire match, although he picked up couple of wickets late in the day. Pankaj Singh was other wicket-taker, but again he and other pacers, including Varun Aaron, Ishwar Pandey and Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked rusty and failed to consistently hit the right areas.
Ishant in particular needs to get his mojo back because he is the spearhead of the attack in the absence of Zaheer Khan and is among few players that have experience of playing the longer format in the English conditions.
Dhoni has five seamers to chose from, namely Mohammad Shami, Aaron, Bhuvneshwar, Pankaj and Ishwar, to partner the lanky pacer and this is their last chance to get into the grove before the series opener in Trent Bridge.
The only good thing about India was the firing of the top-order as three batsmen - Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir and Cheteshwar Pujara - went on to score fine half-centuries. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane also played aggressive knocks late in the day.
Fortunately for India, there are no injury concerns, however, Dhawan was hit in the elbow by left-arm seamer Atif Sheikh in the last match and was forced to leave the ground, but team management clarified that the southpaw is alright.
Dhawan has been in form, especially in the longer format, although he couldn't do much in the Indian Premier League, but his century in Auckland against New Zealand is still afresh in minds of the fans.
Rahul Dravid has also joined the Indian team as consultant for the England tour on request of the team management. It is seen as Duncan Fletcher's last attempt to get the Indian team on winning ways after losing back-to-back Test series against South Africa and the Black Caps.
Dravid's inclusion will certainly boost Team India's confidence in the forthcoming series, but India need a bowling consultant more than a batting mentor.
Dhoni is certain to use his all 18 players against Derbyshire - the team that is at the bottom of county championship - to get the best combination for the first Test.
Squads: India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c and wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Ishwar Pandey, Wriddhiman Saha, Pankaj Singh, Varun Aaron and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Derbyshire: Wayne Madson (c), Paul Borrington, Peter Burgoyne, Jonathan Clare, Greg Cork, Ben Cotton, Gareth Cross (wk), Christ Durham, Wes Durston, Tim Groenewald, Scott Elstone, Mark Footitt, Billy Godleman, Matt Higginbottom, Alex Hughes, Chesney Hughes, Richard Johnson, Tom Knight, Johny Marsden, Stephen Moore, Marcus North, Tony Palladino, Tom Poynton, Ben Slater, Tom Taylor, Mark Turner, David Wainwright.
Where to Watch live
The first day's action between Derbyshire and India is scheduled for 11:00 am local time (3:30 pm IST, 10:00 am GMT and 6:00 am ET) start. Catch the live scores and ball-by-ball updates HERE, HERE or HERE. The action can also be listened live on BBC HERE, HERE or HERE. Viewers can also live stream the match on Willow TV HERE.
