The ball from Mukesh Kumar rose sharply, and it was quick. Ravindra Jadeja was up to the task, and kept it down assuredly. He seemed perfectly fit after an upper back spasm ruled him out of the Boxing Day Test.
On the adjacent wicket, the other part of India’s red-ball spin duo, R. Ashwin took on the throwdowns from batting coach Vikram Rathour, who said, “Shot,” appreciating the confident, forward defensive shot.
The Indian team’s training, after a day’s rest following the innings defeat in the first Test here, was underway at the nets of the SuperSport Park on Saturday. It was an optional training, and players like Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, K.L. Rahul, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer did not train, but among those who did were captain Rohit Sharma, Prasidh Krishna, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Shardul Thakur.
Shardul, in fact, was hit on his left shoulder while facing throwdowns, and though he seemed in obvious pain, he continued to bat. After his batting stint, an ice pack sling was put on his shoulder.
Though he didn’t bowl, he looked fine. The information coming out of the team also suggested that the seamer was alright and that no further medical investigation was required.
The two seamers who did a lot of bowling at the practice session were Prasidh, who made his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test though it wasn’t a particularly memorable one, and Mukesh. Avesh Khan, who was newly added to the squad as a replacement for Mohammed Shami, didn’t train; he had played for India-A in the second Unofficial Test, which finished at Benoni on Friday, had taken five for 54 in South Africa’s only innings.
Jadeja bowled for a long time, while Rohit had a long stint with the bat. The captain made Mukesh bowl to him several balls.
After the twin failures in the first Test, Rohit indeed looked determined in the nets. Coach Rahul Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey too were busy during the session that lasted for a couple of hours.
A few fans had turned up to watch the Indians train. Players like Jaiswal, Ashwin and Shardul obliged when they were requested to pose for photographs. The players of Titans women’s cricket team, who had been training at the ground’s gym, also got to take pictures with the Indian stars.
The Indian team will leave here for Cape Town on Sunday for the second and final Test, starting on Jan. 3.
South Africa quick Gerald Coetzee will not play in the second Test against India at Cape Town. He had suffered pelvic inflammation during the first Test. He bowled only five overs in India’s second innings. Cricket South Africa has not named a replacement, but the squad has pace bowling options in Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder.
