India vs Australia Boxing Day Test: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli lead preparations ahead of Melbourne face-off

India vs Australia Boxing Day Test: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli lead preparations ahead of Melbourne face-off

Past the statues of Dennis Lillee and Shane Warne frozen in their bowling actions and fringed by lush foliage, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is a pretty sight. There is history in every corner, and at one level lower than the main venue, the Indians were busy preparing for their immediate future here on Saturday morning.

Despite a warm sun, the breeze remained cold, the kind that stirs awake old fractures. And in this city of stately churches and the Yarra River, the fourth Test will commence on December 26. While the Australian unit dispersed for a short break, the Indians remained together.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, K.L. Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant had their turns with the bat at the nets. The tail too got an extended run as Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep squared up to pace, spin and throwdowns.

At one point Rohit asked Washington Sundar, “What are your field placements?” The off-spinner complied, and keeping this imaginary preventive ring in mind, Rohit played his shots. A reverse sweep was attempted too while against the pacers; it was largely about blocking or allowing the delivery to go past him. Just then a fan from the upper tier hollered, “Rohit, I have come from far to see you.” The skipper requested his follower to stay mum.

Pant, who had a long stint, had an even longer conversation with Gautam Gambhir, and the coach analysed a few shots. Meanwhile, with R. Ashwin having retired, Devdutt Padikkal doubled up as the extra off-spinner and gave company to Washington and Ravindra Jadeja. Much later, Padikkal got his batting stint along with Sarfaraz Khan.

Among the pacers, Jasprit Bumrah was away at the gym while Siraj honed his batting. Morne Morkel, the bowling coach, also bowled from a short run-up, while Kohli grinned. Another former seamer, Ajit Agarkar, the Indian chief selector, stretched a bit, held a ball, and watched the proceedings.

The Indians sweated for three hours, and inside the venue, previous scoreboards were flashed from the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in which the teams are level at 1-1. Nathan McSweeney’s player-profile also cropped up on the giant screen, just that he won’t be present at the latest game as Sam Konstas has been picked as the former’s replacement. India will train again on Sunday before opting to rest on Monday.