The Border-Gavaskar Trophy promises many more twists and turns than the pitch has been the subject of much discussion.
Pat Cummins was holding his dark green Australian blazer as he waited for the home captain to arrive and pose for the customary pre-series photo with the trophy after the pre-match media conference was over.
Was a different Australian captain made to wait? It didn’t take long for Rohit Sharma to arrive, and the two talked with David Warner.
Who walked up to give the Indian skipper a tickle, you could tell that the IPL generation is different because they don’t have the baggage of the past.
This does not mean that the Indians were going to dismiss Australia’s challenge at Nagpur, where tickets are almost sold out.
Thanks to B CCI’s internal wrangling, Australia, led by Adam Gilchrist, received a warm welcome at Nagpur in 2004.
It led to India’s collapse within four days, with captain Sourav Ganguly withdrawing from the match in the morning of the match due to an injury.
Although Jamtha, on the outskirts of Nagpur, is the new Test venue, the pitch remains in the news; this time due to the absence of grass.
On Wednesday morning, Sharma and the support staff led by Dravid arrived in force and immediately checked the playing surface.
The day before, a lot of selective watering and rolling had been done on the pitch, and the 22 yards afterward saw little action.
The track has been given the name “bone-dry doctored pitch” by the visiting Australian media. Sharma was questioned.
He gave a long, winding response, calmly. I just think we need to concentrate on the cricket that will be played in the next five days.
Avoid overly worrying about the pitch. Each of the 22 cricketers who will participate is of high caliber.
Therefore, you shouldn’t be concerned about things like pitch, turning, seaming, or the like. He stated, “Just come out and play good cricket.”
Indians did not practice. A day before a match, teams sometimes hold low-key training sessions. Surprisingly, no Indian player fell to the ground, with the exception of Jaydev Unadkat.
Unadkat batted for an hour rather than bowling. Many cheered with amusement when they saw batting coach Vikram Rathour working on Unadkat’s forward push and honing his defensive skills while the rest of the support staff watched.
Sudhir Gautam, a superfan, came in and blew his conch to create some excitement. But he only had Sai Kishore, Saurabh Kumar, and Jayant Yadav, the reserve bowlers, there.
They also quickly retreated to the hotel when they realized that no batter was present. We always give players the option to attend training before games. From the third on, a minicamp was started.
Today marks the fourth or fifth training session. Therefore, today was our choice. For the next five days, we need to make sure the guys stay fresh, said Sharma.
On Tuesday, Cheteshwar Pujara had already participated in a marathon two-hour batting session, something he enjoys doing.
Although he did not attend either of the pre-match training sessions, Mohammed Shami is said to be fine.
R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, India’s spin trio. Should consider bowling on the field, especially left-arm spinners for the dry area outside the left-hander’s off stump.
Suryakumar Yadav is likely to make his debut India needs to fill the big middle-order batting hole left by the absence of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer.
The advantages of Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav, his two options, were outlined by the Indian captain. However, the Mumbai batter appears to be ready to play in the Test match after reaching dizzying heights in the T20Is.
He is likely to be called up due to his decade of domestic cricket experience and his ability to play innings that could change the game.
Ashton Agar, Australia’s own left-arm spinner, is favored. It would come as no surprise if India played right-handed batsman Peter Handscomb.
At No. 6 over Matt Renshaw to break up the middle-order monotony given the drama surrounding the wicket and how they are preparing to corner their left-handers.
“The pitch appears to be a little dry for left-handers, and considering how much right-arm bowlers will likely pass through it, there may be some roughness out there.
With a grin, Australia captain Pat Cummins stated, “That’s something we just got to embrace.” It will be amusing.
It will occasionally be difficult. However, many of our batters will be given the opportunity to problem-solve independently, and they will relish it.