THE LAST LEAGUE HURDLE

India will have to be clinical to tame Pakistan-conquerors Zimbabwe, and qualify for the semis as group leaders

Melbourne: The batting nets area at the MCG is one of a kind: open to the public and visible from the street, it is a deep-set arena accessible from a level lower to the ground.

Once the players are in it, they are caged in. And if that team happens to be India, you can bet the cricketers will be surrounded by hundreds of screaming fans jostling for attention and a glimpse of their favourite stars.

Add a couple dozen journalists, youtubers and cricket enthusiasts to the mix and suddenly practice is elevated to performance art. Every move is scrutinized. Every bad shot is greeted with howls. Inside the MCG nets, there is no place to hide.

Saturday happened to be Virat Kohli’s birthday, and Melbourne’s teen diaspora came out in droves to pay him a visit. Some had lunch boxes in tow, fully prepared for a long vigil. As Virat batted, chants of ‘Happy Birthday dear Virat’ rang out time and again, to shouts and cheers and some enthusiastic clapping.

Kohli acknowledged the fans once or twice, raising his hand or glancing at a particularly vocal bunch, but there were simply too many of them. Instead, Virat did what he seldom does at nets: once in a while, he would oblige the ubiquitous “we-want-sixer” crowd with a particularly fearsome hit, much to everyone’s delight.