India prepare for Sri Lanka challenge with focus on short balls, reverse sweep

The highlights of Team India’s training session ahead of the three-Test series against Sri Lanka was mainly based on facing short balls and playing reverse sweeps against spinners. The support staff was giving throwdowns of the deliveries pitched short as the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli warmed up for their training session in order to prepare for the Eden Gardens Test that starts on November 16.

Among them, Rahane took the throwdowns for the longest time. The practice session for him lasted for about half an hour. Moreover, he was tested by short-pitch stuff, an indication of what lies in store for the Indian team when they go for a two-month long tour to South Africa, which will comprise three Tests, six ODIs and three T20Is.

Openers start the show

At the nets, India followed their batting order with Rahul and Dhawan setting the tone, facing alternate spin and pace bowling. While the left-right handed opening duo mainly played in the Vs with the occasional reverse sweep, middle-order batsman Rahane was seen playing an unorthodox shot to the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav, hinting their strategy against Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan.

Hours after landing, skipper Kohli was seen prepping for the upcoming challenge in the two-and-half-hour practice session. He started off with a few drills like stretching, one-legged jump. Kohli then 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,” as reported by NDTV.

The Saurashtra duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja — who played in the last round match against Gujarat that ended yesterday — opted to rest today. “They are here but will come for training tomorrow,” a team official said.