All set for Thunderous Thursday

INDIA TAKE ON ENGLAND IN FIRST ODI AT JAMTHA TODAY

By ParitoshPramanik

COME Thursday, the Nagpur-Hyderabad Highway will be chock-a-block when India and England begin their three-match ODI series in the day-night encounter at VCA Jamtha Stadium.

Fans would be in for a treat with the ball flying into the stands when the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, Phil Salt, to name a few, tonk the balls with brute power. It will be after six years that Jamtha would be hosting an ODI, the last being played in 2019 when India beat Australia.

The preparations were in full swing with final touches being given to the stadium, built in 2008.

It was khakhi all around the periphery of VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on the eve of the first One-Dayer. To make it fool-proof, the police department has taken over the area and converted it into a citadel. A posse of police force guarded the entire approach road to the stadium as one entered the stretch in the noon.

The 45,000 capacity Jamtha Stadium would be packed to the roof where fans would enjoy and cheer their favourite stars. This has been a happy hunting ground for the Indians with four wins and two loses at this venue. Their last victory for India at this venue was over Australia, by eight runs in 2019.

Out of the four wins, twice India defended the total and have chased down the target in as many games.

WILL VIRAT RESUME HIS ‘LOVE AFFAIR’ AT JAMTHA?

Virat Kohli might not be in the best of his forms but the star batter has a happy memory of Jamtha stadium.

The last time he played at this venue, he had slammed 116 runs from 120 deliveries against Australia in 2019. India had won that match by eight runs. A lot of water has flown since then but Kohli will love to resume his love affair at Jamtha and give his thousands of fans something to cheer about.

DUE FROM SHAMI

ohd Shami had an extended session two days prior to the One-Dayer. The pacer has been coming after a long injury lay-off and India think-tank would love to see him in his best form. On Tuesday, Shami was bowing full steam in the centre wicket for more than an hour. He did not look in any discomfort. If Shami is selected, he will be looking to bag some wickets at this venue. The last time Shami played here, against Australia in 2019, he went wicketless and Shami would aim to bag at least a couple of English wickets to boost his confidence ahead of the Champions Trophy.

From that 2019 One-Dayer, only Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav have played here taking one and three wickets respectively.

BIG BLOW FOR ENGLAND?

Ahead of the first ODI against India, England might suffer a big blow with wicketkeeper-batter Jammie Smith unlikely to play at least the first two ODIs.

The wicketkeeper-batter is troubled by a calf issue which he suffered during the third T20I in Rajkot. The England camp is expecting the 24-year-old to be fit before the Champions Trophy. But if reports in the English media are to be believed, Smith will not be playing in Nagpur and Cuttack.

SPECIAL BUS SERVICES

Nagpur Municipal Corporation will be making arrangements for special bus services on the match day. The special buses will ply from Panchsheel Square to Jamtha Stadium from 9 am onwards on Thursday. The service will be available till late night after the match is over. The buses will leave for the venue (Jamtha) every 15 minutes. With network congestion in and around the stadium, NMC has requested spectators to book tickets in advance through their mobile app. Similarly, a ticket booking counter will also be set up at Jamtha T-point.