Don’t write off champions: Nathan Lyon on Kohli’s recent batting slump
The Australian team must be hoping to take advantage of Virat Kohli’s prolonged batting slump when the two sides clash in the five-Test series for the Border-Gavaskar trophy
Virat Kohli, who was rested for the three-match Twenty-20 International series against Bangladesh, resumed practice with the Indian team ahead of the first Test.
The Indian captain joined the squad in Indore, the venue of the opening game, to be played from November 14, of the two-Test series.
Kohli & boys, after a practice session under the sun, also took to an evening session where they reportedly trained with pink balls under the light to get some hold of what it would in the second Test.
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Looks who’s here – unboxing the Pink cherry 😃😃#TeamIndia had a stint with the Pink Ball at the nets today in Indore #INDvBAN 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/JhAJT9p6CI
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 12, 2019
The second match of the series from November 22 at the Eden Gardens will be played with the pink ball and will be India’s first-ever Day-Night Test match.
“We got a request from the Indian team that they want to train under lights with an eye on the pink ball Test, so we are going to arrange for the same,” a former Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) secretary was quoted as saying to IANS on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Indian skipper, while addressing the reporters at the pre-match press conference, on Wednesday, revealed what it was like to practice with the pink cherry.
Stressing on the fact that it was the first time he ever played with a pink ball, Kohli said that the ball demanded extra concentration from him and he had work on his reflexes as well.
He also revealed that the new ball swings more than its red counterpart and believed the bowlers could extract support from it if the wicket assists.
“The pink ball I have played yesterday, I think it swings a lot more compare to the red ball because there’s extra lacquer on the ball and doesn’t go away too fast and the seam holds upright quite a bit,” the 31-year-old was quoted by NDTV.
“If the pitch has enough for the bowler then the bowlers will be in the game, especially the fast bowlers,” he added.
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