Subhayan Chakraborty in Mumbai
With the off stump and leg-stump lines marked in white on all four practice pitches, the Indian team started gearing up for the third and final Test against New Zealand at the iconic Wankhede Stadium. With the full team present, almost all the players had the opportunity to bat in the nets, where a couple of dozen net bowlers were summoned for practice on Wednesday.
As thepitch preparations continued, the Indian team began the day with a huddle where captain Rohit Sharma took centre stage to address the players. Soon after, the big guns like Virat Kohli, Rohit, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill entered the nets, followed by KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, and Sarfaraz Khan, all padded up. The session was slightly different for the batters.None of the top four batted for an extended period. Instead, they kept shuffling among themselves.
For Kohli and Rohit, it was a surprisingly brief session, lasting around 20 minutes, facing bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, and several net bowlers. However, Rishabh Pant stole the show, hammering the net bowlers – mostly teenagers – all over the park, whether pacers or spinners. Pant batted for about 30 minutes, smashing sixes, with some landing deep in the stands. Interestingly, marking the off and leg-stump lines in white was perhaps intended to help the batters better judge the position of their stumps, especially when facing spin.
After the six-hitting spree, the focus shifted to behind the nets where a metal plank was set up. KL Rahul, fully padded up, walked in as a staff member started throwing tennis balls, bouncing them off the plank. Rahul practiced his backfoot game with numerous square cuts and pulls. Jaiswal soon replaced Rahul, facing tennis balls at chest height, practicing pulls, hooks, and upper-cuts. This drill was later replicated by Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja with Abhishek Nayar keeping a close eye.
With the Wankhede pitch expected to offer true bounce, and the New Zealand pacers known for extracting decent bounce, especially when conditions favour them, the Indian coaching staff prepared the batters for bouncy deliveries following the slow, turning track in Pune. Generally at the Wankhede, pacers enjoy bowling during the first hour of the day and after 4 PM, when a cooler breeze comes in from the Arabian Sea. Throughout the session, Rohit and Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, kept a close eye on the proceedings from behind the nets.
Abhishek Nayar Press Conference
“The red soil wicket at Wankhede will bring pace, bounce, and turn—it’s just a matter of when,” says Abhishek Nayar ahead of the 3rd Test.
On Bumrah: “He’s had ample rest, and managing his workload is key.”@CricSubhayan & @atreyom bring you all… pic.twitter.com/2n5ejq7sjj
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) October 30, 2024
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