India vs Australia 2017: Australian players slog it out in nets in their first practice session
The tourists had their first practice session at the Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai. (Source: Twitter) The tourists had their first practice session at the Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai. (Source: Twitter)
Bracing for a challenging Test series against India who are having a dream run, Australian players slogged it out in nets, two days after landing for the four-match rubber starting on February 23 at Pune.
The visitors, after landing in the megapolis on Monday, had their first practice session at the Brabourne Stadium in South Mumbai.
Most of the batsmen, including left-handed David Warner, skipper Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Usman Khawja, practised in nets. The batsmen also focused on running between the wickets. Some of players also practised slip catching.
Fully aware they will face a potent spin attack on Indian pitches known to assist tweakers, the Aussies were seen playing spinners – local ones besides some delivers from their spin consultant Sriram Shridharan.
The Virat Kohli-led squad is on a roll, remaining unbeaten in the last 19 Tests and the team from Down Under is leaving no stone unturned in their preparation to stop the Indian juggernaut.
Team India has comprehensively beaten England, New Zealand and Bangladesh and are undefeated at home since 2012.
Before travelling to Pune, the tourists will take on India `A’ in a three-day practice game at the same venue from February 17.
“It’s a great challenge to play here in India. We know if we can pull something off and win a series here, we can look back at it in 10-20 years as some of the best times in our life. It’s a great occasion to play here in India,” Smith had yesterday said.
The first game in the series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is to be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, which is to host its first-ever Test, from February 23-27, while the second match is to be held at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from March 4-8.
The last two Tests are to be staged in Ranchi (March 16-20) and Dharamshala (March 25-29), the two other centres which will be conducting Tests for the first time.