Photo: Debasis Sen.
Adelaide Oval, on Tuesday, turned into a Chepauk as the Indian cricket team’s practice session was open for general fans to watch, just like IPL franchise, Chennai Super Kings allows fans to watch MS Dhoni and others during the pre-season training session.
It was not a full-house like what we witness at the MA Chidambaram stadium, still there were close to a couple of thousand fans, mostly Indians, who turned up to watch the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli train ahead of the Day Night test match, at the Adelaide Oval, starting from December 6.
South Australia Cricket Association (SACA) and Cricket Australia (CA) decided to allow the fans to watch both Australia and India practice sessions at the Adelaide Oval. It was an initiative to let the fans have a closer look at the stars and to see them in the flesh. There was a decent turnout of Australian fans to cheer Cummins and co. During the Indian practice session, the numbers increased admirably by evening.
The cynosure of all eyes was Kohli, who scored a scintillating hundred in the first test match at the Optus stadium. Kohli’s century in Perth was a crucial moment, marking his first Test hundred in over 16 months. It was his seventh Test century in Australia, bringing him level with the legendary Wally Hammond for the second-most Test centuries in the country, just behind Jack Hobbs. This century was particularly significant given Kohli’s recent struggles in 2024, where he had managed just 255 runs from 13 innings at an average of 21.25, with only one half-century prior to the series.
There were loud cheers from the fans who were beside the nets area situated at the back of the main pitch. They were with the posters of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah. Some even brought miniature bats, hats, jerseys to get an autograph from their favourite stars.
India heads into the second Test with plenty of momentum, following a dominant performance in the opening match of the five-test series. The visitors won by an impressive 295 runs, leaving plenty of time in the match. Bumrah, who captained the team in Rohit’s absence during the Perth Test, led India’s pace attack with great skill. Now with Rohit’s return and Shubman Gill’s strong performance in the warm-up match against the PM’s XI, Gambhir faces some tough decisions in selecting the playing XI.
Cricket Australia is expecting a massive turnout at the Adelaide Oval over the weekend and if the open session was any indication, they will not be disappointed.
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