At a time when the world cricketing world is bracing up for arguably the biggest fixture in the game- India versus Pakistan, two of India’s biggest cricket stalwarts, captain Virat Kohli and his predecessor MS Dhoni were involved in another tussle. Both the men were leading their teams in a football match during the warm-up session ahead of the Champions Trophy opener against Pakistan at Edgbaston.
And well, no prizes for guessing who emerged victorious in the football match. Dhoni’s love for football and him aspiring to become a footballer during his childhood days is well documented and the way the former India skipper led his team, ‘blue brigade’ to a thumping 3-0 win over Kohli’s ‘orange army’, it is quite evident that why he wanted to be a footballer.
Leading from the front, Dhoni scored one while veteran batsman Yuvraj Singh scored a brace as the blue brigade steamrolled Kohli’s men despite the current India skipper’s team boasting the likes of Kedar Jadhav and Umesh Yadav in his team.
Previously, Virat Kohli had revealed what prompt the team to play a game of football instead of following the customary practice sessions before a match.
“Whenever the team is feeling down or we’ve had a hectic travel day and don’t have the energy to do normal warm-up, football gives the extra motivation to run after a ball and show our skills. Basically, it gets the competitive nature out in a big way. Whenever we feel like we have to bond as a team and get our energy going, we have a quick game of football and we are ready to go,” he had said.
Well, with the game against Pakistan just a couple of hours away, the Men in Blue will definitely need to bring their competitive nature out and if a game of football helps them to do that, let it be even though it has led to injuries in past.
India, meanwhile, will be looking to start their title-defence in style by defeating Pakistan. The defending champions have looked in fine form in the build up to the tournament. The Virat Kohli-led side defeated New Zealand by 45 runs (DLS method) in the first-warm up tie before thrashing Bangladesh by 240 runs in the next.