Aug. 19: Seven members of the Indian team opted for nets here on Thursday despite there being no official practice having been set for the day with coach Gary Kirsten and bowling consultant Eric Simmons in attendance. Manager Ranjib Biswal had earlier said the team would stay away from practice to recover for the crucial match against New Zealand on Sunday.
It is reliably learnt that a few batsmen wanted to practice against a bowler similar to Lasith Malinga’s slingy style to counter his wares. The speedster has caused enough havoc for the top-order and the tale was repeated during India’s six-wicket win on Monday. Simmons imitating Malinga’s action provided Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik and Saurabh Tiwary some much needed practice.
India also had the advantage of spotting a net bowler who plays for a provincial under-19 team with an action similar to Malinga. The last few games has been a good experience for the young batsmen but the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have found the bowler-friendly conditions tough to handle. The two were conspicuous by their absence on the day.
It has been hard work for the Indian top-order with Virender Sehwag’s unbeaten score of 99 against Sri Lanka being the only major contribution. Though the main bowlers were rested from the session, spinners Pragyan Ojha and Ravindra Jadeja had long spells and were seen spending a considerable amount of time with the video analyst.
Munaf Patel and Abhimanyu Mithun, who suffered a heat stroke in the first match against New Zealand, were the others to attend. With question marks lingering over Ashish Nehra’s fitness, either Munaf or Mithun could make the cut. India — after two matches — are second on the points table and, will play the last two league games, the last one being against the hosts next Wednesday.