There was a worrying sense of deja vu when Australia’s Test squad arrived at KSCA Ground in Alur on Thursday morning.
The three follow wickets they had been offered with regarded extra akin to the Gabba than the spinning decks of Nagpur and Ahmedabad, with a wholesome layer of grass at every finish.
Australia had been sabotaged in Sri Lanka final 12 months, served up seaming follow wickets forward of a collection performed solely on spinning decks, however the BCCI had assured Cricket Australia it wouldn’t be the identical story in Bengaluru this week.
For a second, the Aussies would have puzzled whether or not they had been duped but once more, however any lingering fears had been allayed as soon as the coaching session obtained underway and the SG balls began turning.
“The facilities were fantastic,” Australian Test captain Pat Cummins advised foxsports.com.au.
“They were really good wickets … it’s given us a good chance to have some really good prep.”
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Australia has no warm-up matches scheduled forward of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as an alternative present process a specialised four-day coaching camp in Bengaluru the place they will think about particular person abilities and put together for India’s spinning minefields in a managed surroundings.
In preparation for dealing with Indian tweakers Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, Australia’s batters have relied on Ashton Agar and spin coach Daniel Vettori, each completed left-arm orthodox bowlers, to copy their bowling motion.
But to acquaint themselves with the right-arm off-spin of Ravichandran Ashwin, the Aussies wanted to name in reinforcements.
As reported by cricket.com.au, 21-year-old spinner Mahesh Pithiya was flown to Bangalore to function considered one of Australia’s web bowlers this week, troubling the likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head on Thursday.
Pithiya, who made his first-class debut for Baroda in December, is famend for having an uncannily comparable bowling motion to Ashwin. According to Cricbuzz, Australia’s teaching workers requested Pithiya’s companies after watching clips of his bowling motion on Instagram.
The Australian camp is cautious of fatigue, wanting to make sure the squad isn’t burnt out earlier than the fourth Test in Ahmedabad. David Warner, who confessed to feeling exhausted after his current Big Bash League cameo, didn’t practice on Thursday, opting as an alternative to recuperate within the Bangalore resort.
“We value freshness at the back end of the tour,” Australian coach Andrew McDonald advised reporters final week.
“We’ve seen teams go there before and spend a lot of energy at the front end.
“We feel as though we get a bit more control in Bangalore to replicate what we’re going to come up against and then we go into Nagpur fresh.
“Hopefully it pays dividends at the back end.”
Australia’s skilled gamers have been entrusted with making ready for the primary Test in Nagpur, which will get underway on Thursday, nonetheless they deem match. Whether they wished to hit balls within the nets for hours or preserve their power, they had been supplied with the required assets.
“It was very individualised, some guys hit for hours and hours, others are taking it pretty easy,” Cummins defined.
“It’s been a busy few weeks for some guys with BBL, so very individualised, but some very good training.
“Each player might do things a little bit differently. There’s no cookie-cutter approach, and that’s a good thing. That’s what we want.
“The team’s really humming along at the moment, the players are absolute pros. Sometimes I feel like I can step back and it just kind of runs itself, and I don’t feel like I need to intervene or be an enforcer when things are going well, like they have been.”
The first Test between India and Australia will get underway at Nagpur’s Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Thursday, with the primary ball scheduled for 3pm AEDT.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy can be broadcast completely on Foxtel and streaming platform Kayo Sports, which can even carry a Hindi feed for each match on the tour.
Originally revealed as Australian camp hires Ravichandran Ashwin ‘impersonator’ to organize for India Test collection
Source: www.news.com.au
