The Indian team had scheduled their practice session for 6 PM on Tuesday, but at around 5:30 PM, the plan was suddenly changed because of a lunar eclipse (chandra grahan).
The eclipse began at 3:20 PM and was expected to end at 6:47 PM. In India, the moon was set to become visible at 6:26 PM, with the peak visibility between 6:33 PM and 6:40 PM. According to sources, the team management decided to delay the practice session, which is usually held two days before a match, due to the eclipse.
Many believe that beginning important activities during a lunar eclipse is inauspicious. With India preparing to face England in the semifinal, the team preferred to start their preparations on a positive note. As a result, the practice session was postponed by about an hour so it could begin after the eclipse window.
The session eventually started a little after 7:30 PM with fielding drills. Players stood with their backs to three small nets placed at different targets — one with full stumps, another with half-height stumps, and the third with a football placed on the ground. A ball would be underarmed toward them, and the player had to turn quickly and throw in one motion at the target of their choice.
Most players initially opted for the safer target — the stumps. However, the challenge intensified when Ishan Kishan attempted to hit the football target and missed. Soon after, Axar Patel successfully struck it, drawing loud cheers from teammates. Arshdeep Singh followed with another accurate hit, sparking further celebrations.
Four batting nets were set up around the main match pitch at the Wankhede Stadium, where two T20 World Cup matches had already been played — England vs West Indies and Nepal vs Italy.
Hardik Pandya was the first to begin batting and spent more than two hours in the nets. Against the bowlers, he focused on controlled punches and drives, working on timing and placement. Later, during throwdowns from assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, he shifted gears and began striking the ball with full power.
During the session, Hardik worked on correcting a few issues, including the bat turning in his hands and limited hip rotation. Ten Doeschate frequently stopped to discuss adjustments with him. Hardik responded by tweaking his stance, rotating his hips more freely, and continuing his drills with focus and patience.
Later, he moved to another net where the emphasis was on improving his bat swing. Head coach Gautam Gambhir stood nearby, regularly interacting with him during the session. Occasionally, when the bat turned in his hands, Hardik would pause and practise shadow drives before resuming.
Finally, around 10 PM, Hardik ended his extended session with a lofted straight hit before walking across to fist-bump each of the net bowlers.
Elsewhere in the session, Abhishek Sharma began with bowling and fielding before moving to batting later. Suryakumar Yadav also had a long batting session, practising sweeps and lap shots at the Wankhede — a ground where he has often produced memorable IPL innings.
Sanju Samson worked on short-ball play as ten Doeschate lobbed balls toward his head for pull-shot practice before switching to full deliveries for drives. Shivam Dube, who also bowled during practice, later joined Hardik to work on pull shots against bouncer throwdowns.
Mohammed Siraj turned out to be the last player in the batting nets. Encouraged by Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, he kept swinging freely before finally finishing at 10:09 PM with a huge six over long-on — not far from the spot where MS Dhoni’s famous 2011 World Cup final six landed.
