Kolkata: Facing short balls and playing reverse sweeps against spinners were the highlights of Indian team’s training session as they geared up for the three-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting November 16.
The Indian team support staff was seen giving throwdowns of short pitch deliveries as the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli warmed up for their first training session ahead of the Eden Gardens Test here, November 16.
Rahane was the longest to take the throwdowns that went on for about half an hour. He was seen tested by short-pitch stuff, an indication of what lies in store for the India team when they go for a two-month long tour to South Africa, which will comprise three Tests, six ODIs and three T20Is.
At the nets, India followed their batting order with Rahul and Dhawan setting the tone, facing alternate spin and pace bowling. While the Indian left-right combination mainly played in the ‘V’s with occasional reverse sweep, middle-order batsman Rahane’s stint at the nets was peppered with the unorthodox shot to the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav, hinting their strategy against Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan.
Kohli also took the throwdowns and faced some short-pitched deliveries before heading to the nets, where he too approached spinners with the reverse sweep shot.
Wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha however chose to play it down, saying, “It’s how you react to a particular ball. It’s not that we have planned differently for a particular bowler. There’s no compulsory shot like that.”
Sri Lanka inspect pitch
Kolkata: Sri Lanka support staff along with their skipper Dinesh Chandimal came for pitch inspection despite the team getting an off-day after their warm-up game against Board President’s XI. A five-member Lankan team comprising head coach Nic Pothas, batting coach Thilan Samaraweera and bowling consultant Rumesh Ratnayake and team manager Asanka Gurusinghe were seen on the sidelines of India’s practice session in the afternoon.
India may field 3 pacers against Lanka
Kolkata: The Indian team management is likely to field three frontline pacers in the first Test against Sri Lanka, keeping in mind the upcoming South Africa tour.
It has been learnt that the Indian team management wants tracks that are hard and bouncy without any major grass covering for all three home Tests–something they will be getting in South Africa.
Keeping that in mind, the grass cover was removed by the Eden Gardens grounds men Monday. As India will have to go in with three specialist speedsters in South Africa, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav will be complemented by either Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Ishant Sharma.
Ishant led Delhi in three Ranji Trophy games this season, and more importantly, bowled really well in all the matches. His back of the length bowling on hard tracks can be useful. Similarly, Bhuvneshwar can be very useful considering the swing on offer during the early morning and post-tea session at the Eden Gardens.
The two specialist spinners are likely to be Ravichandran Ashwin and chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.
Ashwin was seen practising a lot of wrong ones while using the grip of a leg-break bowler. On the other hand, skipper Virat Kohli was seen facing reverse swing throw downs against a customised red and yellow ball.
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