On Friday, Indian cricket team held a practice session in Canberra before the warm-up game against the Prime Minister’s XI and the second Test versus Australia, which begins on December 6 at the Adelaide Oval.
With the day-night Test in the offing, India braced for the pink ball challenge by hitting the nets for the first time since landing in Canberra.
Virat Kohli back among the runs with a solid hundred vs Australia in Perth
At the forefront of the focus was Shubman Gill who returned to the nets and showed signs of full recovery from a thumb fracture that had ruled him out of the first Test in Perth. India had won the first Test by 295 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Gill, India’s top-order batter, faced Prasidh Krishna, Yash Dayal and Akash Deep in the nets on Friday. With Gill missing the Perth Test, Devdutt Padikkal had slotted in at No. 3 but failed to make a mark.
“Any ball when it hits the bat, especially the middle of the bat, the felling you get, that’s the feeling I play for. Today was my first day, I was just trying to get the feel to be honest… how the injury is reacting, if there is any jarness and soreness. It actually went much better than I expected and Kamlesh bhai (Kamlesh Jain) expected,” said Gill after the session in the BCCI video.
Other batters, too, were involved in the practice session despite presence of rain in the Australian capital.
Rohit Sharma trains with the team
India captain Rohit Sharma trained with the rest of the squad for the first time since landing in Australia on Sunday. The right-hander had missed the opening Test in Perth to be with his family as his wife gave birth to their second child.
The 37-year-old reached Perth on Sunday and held a nets session in Perth on Monday, as the team concluded the first Test in convincing fashion.
At the Manuka Oval, the venue for the practice game, he was the first to take the nets and was later joined by Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli.
Jasprit Bumrah, player of the match in the first Test, Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana didn’t bowl during the nets.
Rest of the squad warmed up in the main ground and played touch football. The objective of the session being keeping the ball in the air for long and ensuring it doesn’t touch the ground.
Weather to make its presence felt in Canberra
With India taking on Prime Minister’s XI from November 30, it could be a stop-start affair with prediction of rain throughout the weekend.
On Friday also, Indian team persisted in their practice session despite steady drizzle.
Batting headache for Indian team
With Rohit and Gill hitting the nets, it means a challenging prospect for the Indian support staff over what changes to make for the second Test.
KL Rahul made a strong case for himself with a patient 26 in the first innings against Australia in Perth followed by a 77-run knock in the second innings, playing a role in putting the game beyond the hosts. He and Jaiswal put together a record-breaking 201-run stand for the opening wicket.
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On the conundrum, Cheteshwar Pujara said, “In the batting lineup, I think Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jhurel will unfortunately miss out. Rohit and Shubman Gill will replace them in the next Test match,” he said on Star Sports’ Follow The Blues.
“And if we talk about the batting order, I think KL Rahul should play in the top order. He should be able to bat in the top 3. So, Rohit will obviously open. But if KL Rahul bats in the top 3, it will be good for the Indian team. Because the way he played in the first Test match, he was very comfortable. And he was batting very well.
“And if Shubman Gill bats at no. 5, when he will come to bat, the ball will be a little old. And he can play his natural game. He plays some attacking shots, so that will also be a little easy for him.
“And because of that, Rishabh Pant can come in at number 6. And it will be a little easier for him too. When the ball gets a little old, it is a little easier for him to bat. So, I think if there is any change in the batting order, then Rohit should open, KL should bat at 3, and Shubman Gill at number 5.”