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ICC World T20: Ahead of Indo-Pak clash at Eden Gardens, Suresh Raina, Shoaib Malik show great camaraderie
The duo were seen hugging and patting each other, and also shaking hands during optional practice sessions.
New Delhi: India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in the mother of all battles on Saturday in the ICC World Twenty20 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Ahead of the epic clash, there was a spirit of bonding between the cricketers of both nations as they practiced at the same venue.
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India's left-handed batsman Suresh Raina showed great camaraderie and friendship with senior Pakistani all-rounder Shoaib Malik.
The duo were seen hugging and patting each other, and also shaking hands during optional practice sessions.
Reports state that seeing Raina, Malik came to greet him as the duo were seen engaged in talks for a few minutes before going back to each other's camp. Both the rival camps had simultaneous sessions.
Pakistan got off to a morale-boosting start with 55-run victory over Bangladesh. Meanwhile, India lost against New Zealand in Nagpur and therefore it is a must-win scenario for the Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side.
The Pakistan team had a training session without some of their batsmen and bowlers, while India had Raina, Ajinkya Rahane and Pawan Negi in their session conducted by batting coach Sanjay Bangar.
Meanwhile, Malik, who too had come under fire along with skipper Shahid Afridi for their "more love in India than in Pakistan" comment, gave away his pair of gloves to the local seamer Rajiv Keshri and was also seen taking selfies with cricketers.
Majority of Pakistan stars opted out of the optional net session.
As for the Indian camp, the duo of Raina and Rahane focussed on batting as they faced left-arm spinner Pawan Negi.
(With PTI inputs)