NAGPUR: The majority of Indian batters committed to double shifts in the nets against slow bowlers before the series opening since there is a strong chance that the plan to train rank turners for annihilating Australia will fail.
The misunderstood Australian cricketer Steve O'Keefe had one notable performance against India in Pune six summers ago when a snake pit of a 22-yard delivery boomeranged horribly on the hosts, giving the left-arm spinner 12 of his 35 Test wickets in a single match.
As if that weren't enough, Lyon questioned a lot during the subsequent test in Bangalore.
The Indian team boasted nine specialist spinners on Tuesday: four from the core squad, five from within India, and one from abroad. The hitters are being helped by fringes.
The majority of the work was done by the off-spinners Pulkit Narang and Jayant Yadav, as well as the leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, left-arm orthodox Ravisrinivas Sai Kishore, and Saurabh Kumar, while Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Kuldeep Yadav would like to save their energies for the big five days.
When Narang and India's Jayant, who neither rank among the top 10 domestic wicket-takers, are asked to simulate, it is very clear that domestic cricket lacks effective off-break bowlers.
The continued disregard for Jalaj Saxena while Jayant is present indicates that Lyon is still very much on India's mind.
"Playing spin is something we have definitely practised, and we are aware of how the pitches will behave in India. We've gotten good at playing spin while keeping that in mind "KL Rahul, the team's vice captain, provided a sneak peak into their pregame planning.
Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli both attempted to make sweep shots, but Cheteshwar Pujara focused more on blocking off-breaks with a strong forward stride.
"Everybody has their own unique plans. Everyone has their own preferred style of play that they have discussed with the coaches, or everyone wants to play a certain way. In an effort to improve our spin play, the batting group and I have talked about this "said the vice captain of India.
Rahul Dravid, the head coach, actually spent a lot of time with Gill and explained how to use some shadow batting to hold the sweep at bay. When a strong turn is being offered, he was observed demonstrating to Gill how to prevent offering a catch to a front short leg or leg gully. Later, Gill could be seen practising close-range catching with fielding coach T. Dileep while standing at the forward short leg. Although the squad lineup hasn't been revealed, it appears like Rahul will replace Gill at the top, who is currently going through a strong period.
A good wicketkeeper will be required at all times because of the dry area on one side of the track, which means the ball will start contributing from the first game.
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