The Indian team had a solid workout in both the warm-up games leading up to the first test. While the first one was played with a red ball, the second one was played with a pink ball. The pink ball match especially came in at the right time to acclimatise the Indians with both the match conditions and the pink ball. Even though India could not force a result in the 3-day warmup game, the likes of Ben McDermott (107*) and Jack Wildermuth (111*) put up a strong show to deny victory to the Indians. The visitors will be pretty happy with both the batting and bowling units. We at Stumpsandbails list out 5 major positives for India leading up to the test series.
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5: Shubman Gill’s fine stroke play:
After having impressed in the final ODI at Canberra against Australia, Shubman Gill has continued his good form in the longer format of the game. His eye-catching stroke play combined with solidity at the crease has got many cricketing experts excited. Gill walked in at No. 3 in both the innings and scored a beautiful 43 and 65 respectively in the first and second innings. Gill’s class has never been a question and with him making batting look so easy, it seems as if he has leapfrogged Prithvi Shaw to be India’s first-choice opener along with Mayank Agarwal come the first test at Adelaide (Dec 17-21)
4: Hanuma Vihari shows his class:
Perennially underrated player, Hanuma Vihari once again showed the cricketing world how valuable he is as a Test cricketer. In the absence of Rohit Sharma in the first couple of Tests, Vihari is expected to man the middle-order in this gruelling 4 match Test series. And if the pink ball practice game is anything to go by, then Vihari does seem to be in the mood to score big runs against the Aussies. He looked in fine touch while compiling a century in the 2nd innings against Australia A in the practice game. The fact that he scored the bulk of his runs during the twilight period countering bounce and swing made it even more heartening.
3: Rishabh Pant is back in business:
Long touted as Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s successor, Rishabh Pant has often had to shoulder the burden of enormous expectations. To be fair to him, there has been no Indian wicket-keeper apart from him who has scored centuries in both England and Australia. The Indian team management knows the value which Pant brings in. He further repaid the faith the management showed by slamming a quick-fire ton (73-ball 103*) and the majority of the runs came during the challenging twilight period. The fans and the team will be expecting a similar display from him come the test matches.
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2: Mohammad Shami makes the ball do the talking:
Mohammad Shami is a different beast with the old ball, something that the entire cricket world knows. But in the practice match against Australia A, Shami brought out all his skills to pick up three wickets in the first innings and helped India bundle out the Aussies for a paltry 108. The most pleasing fact was that Shami picked up all his 5 wickets (3 in the 1st and 2 wickets in the 2nd innings) in the first session of the game. It is widely considered as the most difficult session for the bowlers in a pink ball D/N test match. Shami’s form augurs well for the Indian team in the absence of Ishant Sharma.
1: India’s tail wagged handsomely and that was the difference:
Indian tail in recent times has found it difficult to survive in overseas conditions. But the practice match against Australia A had a different story to tell. The last batting pair of Jasprit Bumrah (55*) and Mohammad Siraj (22) put on a stand of 71 runs for the 10th wicket and this frustrated the Australian A bowlers to the hilt. This partnership was the major difference between the two sides as Australia A were bowled out for just 108. The Indian team’s lower-order batting was another major highlight for the visiting Indian team.
