The Indian team has had a bright start to its World Cup 2023 campaign. The Men in Blue have won all their three matches so far against Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The three victories have propelled India to the top of the 10-team points table. The hosts are due to take on Bangladesh in their next game in Pune on Thursday (October 19).

For the Bangladesh clash, Rohit Sharma and his men landed in Pune on Sunday (October 15) afternoon and headed straight to their hotel rooms.

There was no practice session on Monday with BCCI confirming that the players will hit the nets on Tuesday evening. It was a well-earned rest day for the team after its dominant display against arch-rivals Pakistan in Ahmedabad.

However, India head coach Rahul Dravid was still on duty. According to a Hindustan Times report, Dravid headed straight to the venue – the MCA Stadium in Pune – to have a look at the pitch on offer.

Notably, this will be the first match of this World Cup in Pune, slated to stage a total of five games in the ongoing showpiece tournament.

As per the report, the kind of soil that will be used can make a significant difference in how the Pune strip might behave. In the case of red soil, the chances are high that the ball might grip and turn a bit more than usual. On the other hand, black soil is likely to produce a high-scoring match.

While India are coming into this game on the back of three successive wins, Bangladesh seem to struggling in the quadrennial event. The Tigers opened their campaign with a big win over Afghanistan but went down against England and New Zealand in the next two outings.

(Hindustan Times Inputs)