India digging deep before pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka at Bengaluru

Express News Service

BENGALURU:  There is always something brave, bold and entertaining about Rishabh Pant when he walks onto bat for India, irrespective of the format.

Even during India’s practice session ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, starting Saturday, that element of his game was on display on Thursday. 

Even when several of the Indian batters took throwdowns with visibly full protective gears, the wicket-keeper took some throwdowns without pads or helmet for more than 30 minutes and he was enjoying smashing the ball into the nearby stands too.

However, when the batter had to face regular bowlers at the nets, Pant with proper gear looked in solid control, playing his shots all around along with some good defensive shots.

He was one of the last main batters to come into the net.

Before him, the likes of Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli and others also had a hit at the nets under the newly installed unipole lights at the stadium.

The spinners including Axar Patel, who has joined the team for the pink ball Test, had a long bowling session.

It was not a surprise considering they are expected to play an important role in the Bengaluru pitch. Amongst the pacers, Mohammed Shami went through the drill from his usual run-up, but Jasprit Bumrah seemed to be taking it light, bowling from a very short run up most of the time.

At the end of the session, India coach Rahul Dravid gave some catching practice to the slip cordon including Kohli, Rohit, Mayank.

They did not give a good account of themselves, dropping a number of catches, especially in the initial phase. That could be a real test for all these cricketers, who are not attuned to the pink ball.

In fact, Kohli, in the past, has also spoken about the difficulty, referring to the pink ball to be a tad heavier as well.

Stadium can be full for second Test, says KSCA 

Initially, the Karnataka State Cricket Association had allowed for 50 percent capacity, but the state body has now increased it to full capacity.

“..There has been a very good response. Considering the high volume of response and since there are no further restrictions for spectators, KSCA will be opening up the sale of tickets for full capacity,” read KSCA’s statement.