Preparing for their upcoming one-off Test against England, India played a four-day warm-up game against Leicestershire at Grace Road. Rain interrupted the first day's play, which coincided with a shaky start for India's top-order batsmen. Amidst the struggle, KS Bharat played a crucial role, fighting a solitary battle against the bowlers. His composed, unbeaten knock of 70 runs off 111 balls was instrumental in pushing India's score to 246/8 at the Uptonsteel Cricket Ground.
Choosing to bat first, India saw an initial partnership of 35 runs between Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma. However, Will David broke the opening stand by taking Gill's wicket for 21. Rohit Sharma's current dip in form persisted as he failed to turn a decent start into a substantial score, eventually falling LBW to Roman Walker for 25.
The middle order faltered as Hanuma Vihari managed only 3 runs and Shreyas Iyer was sent back without scoring a single run. Ravindra Jadeja showed some aggression but was dismissed by Walker for 13. As the wickets tumbled, the responsibility of rescuing the innings fell squarely on Virat Kohli.
Kohli and Bharat worked together to add 57 runs for the sixth wicket, but Walker eventually dismissed Kohli for 33. Bharat, however, remained composed and unbeaten throughout his 158-minute stint at the crease. He found some support from Mohammed Shami, who contributed 18 runs to the total.
Roman Walker dominated the game with a five-wicket haul, effectively capping India's scoring potential. Interestingly, the Leicestershire lineup featured several familiar faces, including Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Prasid Krishna.