Punjab Newsline | London
Team India spent a memorable evening in London on Saturday ahead of the decisive ODI against England. The Indian men’s cricket team, along with its support staff, attended a special reception and dinner hosted at India House, the High Commission of India. The event provided the players with an opportunity to take a break from their on-field preparations and connect with the Indian community in the United Kingdom.
Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Kumaran Periasamy, welcomed the players and support staff. BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla also addressed the players and guests during the event. The BCCI shared pictures from the programme on social media platform X and described the evening as a memorable one for Team India in London.
During the event, Indian players interacted with members of the Indian diaspora in the UK and exchanged views with them. The players also posed for photographs with High Commissioner Kumaran Periasamy, officials of the High Commission and their families. The gathering also saw memories of some of India’s celebrated cricket teams being revisited.
The special event was held midway through the three-match ODI series between India and England. The series is currently level at 1-1, with both teams now set to face each other in the decisive match at the historic Lord’s ground.
India made a strong start to the series by winning the opening match. Captain Shubman Gill gave the team a solid start with an aggressive batting display and scored 80 runs before retiring hurt. Indian bowlers bowled England out for 258, after which the batters chased down the target in 45.2 overs to give India a 1-0 lead.
However, England made a strong comeback in the second ODI. With the conditions offering assistance to the seamers, India were restricted to 233 runs. Joe Root then produced a composed unbeaten knock of 99 to guide England to victory and level the series.
The decisive clash at Lord’s is now expected to be a closely fought contest, with both teams aiming to seal the ODI series.
