After a thumping victory over UAE and a couple of days of rest, the Indian team made their way to the nets at the Murdoch University located close to 20 kilometers away from the city towards the South of Perth.
Along with a handful of fans who had made it to the ground from the city center, the team had lush green grass and a vast college campus for company. First, the team made its way to the center of the ground and occupied the center wicket and began their regular routines of simulating match situations.
Mohammad Shami, who missed the previous game against UAE owing to a niggle in his left knee, was seen loosening up with a light fielding drill. Shami later had the ball in his hand and bowled a few deliveries. It wasn’t his normal run-up but he did look to test his own fitness by bowling a few at the batsmen.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was seen with an ankle strap but one could conclude that it was just a precautionary measure since he went about his bowling at the nets normally. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli warmed up by bowling a few seamers while Mohit Sharma and Stuart Binny hit the deck hard to trouble the batsmen a few times.
Shikhar Dhawan, who is going through a rich vein of form in the tournament so far, hit the sweet spot of the bat more often than not and at the same time looked cautious with a few deliveries that zipped past him.
Rohit Sharma at the other end, tonked a few of his teammates and gave some catching practice to the fielders in the deep. After their stint in the middle, Dhoni and Ajinkya Rahane walked to bat. Both batsmen didn’t quite go for the big shots, instead restricting themselves to place deliveries in the gaps.
Each batsman after their respective stints made their way towards the fielding coach for a long fielding drill – a feature that has been common in India’s practice sessions of late. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli were seen in an intense fielding drill that involved a series of flat catches and a high catch at the end. Both looked comfortable with their takes and received a pat from the fielding coach.
Rohit Sharma, after a hit in the center wicket, moved on to the nets away from the practice ground and was seen working closely with assistant coach Sanjay Bangar. Bangar gave him throw downs and a few suggestions on his batting and footwork at the end of his session.
The rest of the team continued its regular all-round drills and had their dose of energy drinks to beat the sweltering heat. India play West Indies at the WACA on Friday.
