New Delhi: The under-fire Indian batting line-up turned their focus to red-ball preparations with a rigorous net session at the Adelaide Oval ahead of the Brisbane Test starting on December 14, Saturday. Team India is reeling from their humbling 10-wicket defeat in the pink-ball Test and in order to get over the defeat and enter the next Test in a positive frame of mind, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and the other Indian batters sweated it out at the Adelaide Oval nets.
India are aiming to bounce back in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is all square at 1-1. Unlike the Australian team, which headed to Brisbane ahead of the third Test, the Indian team decided to stay back and switched back to sharpen their red-ball skills following the pink-ball disaster in Adelaide.
Their main focus was to work on their defensive techniques and judgment in leaving deliveries.
BCCI shared a video of Team India’s practice on X (formerly Twitter).
It is time to look ahead.
Preparations for the Brisbane Test starts right here in Adelaide.#TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/VfWphBK6pe
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 10, 2024
Rohit, Virat sweat it out in the nets
Indian skipper Rohit, who is going through one of the worst phases in his Test career with just 142 runs in his last 12 faced both spinners and pacers in the intensive net session.
After missing the first Test due to paternal duties, Rohit rejoined the team for the Adelaide Test.
Rohit sacrificed his opening position as India continued with the opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul, who shared a match-winning partnership of 201 runs in the Perth Test.
However, Rohit’s move to drop himself to No. 6 backfired as the Indian skipper scored three and six in Adelaide.
Meanwhile, Kohli, who scored his first century in 16 months in the opener at Perth, also fell cheaply in the Day-Night Test, edging two deliveries outside off stump.
Kohli gradually found his rhythm after a slow start to the net session. KL Rahul, on the other hand, focused more on his defence, while Rishabh Pant played with his usual flamboyance.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored a big century in India’s 295-run win in the opening Test, played aggressively and even stepped out to the bowlers. India’s bowling unit comprised of Harshit Rana, Akash Deep, Yash Dayal and the spin trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar.
Star pace duo Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj along with fast-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy were not part of the session.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Indian batters practiced hard with the red ball in the Adelaide Oval nets as part of their preparations for the third Test in Brisbane. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
