Less than 48 hours after wilting against South Africa, the Men in Blue limbered up at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Tuesday night. With the Proteas and the West Indies staying way ahead in their Net Run Rate, India has to be at its ruthless best in its next two Super Eight Group 1 games.

As the ICC T20 World Cup cruises towards the business end, India will take on Zimbabwe in this coastal metropolis busy adjusting to the early stirrings of summer. Thursday’s clash is a must-win game for the defending champion, and a batting rejig seems to be in store.

In the nets on either side of the main pitch, the quartet of Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma batted for long. This may well be the top-order while initially Abhishek Sharma plied his left-arm spin. With a meagre 15-run yield from four outings in this championship, the talented opener is awaiting a change in fortune.

Samson cut loose against pace, picking the stands as targets. Set to slip into the yellow shade for Chennai Super Kings in the forthcoming Indian Premier League, he is bound to be a regular fixture at Chepauk. Kishan, Suryakumar and Tilak too freed their arms, and at times the net bowlers were scampering to pick high-catches.

At one point, Kishan let his wicket-keeping instinct get the better of him. Standing as a non-striker, he dropped his bat and caught a hit zooming in from the other net. The nets, split into pace and spin, witnessed steady action.

Even as the squad trained, Rinku Singh was a notable absentee. Apparently he had to return home for a family emergency. And this may well mean that vice-captain Axar Patel could get his spot in the playing XI.