After going down in the first Test match against hosts South Africa in Cape Town, Virat Kohli & Co. were found sweating it out in nets for their next match in Centurion. After the guests lost the first match by 72 runs, players like KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma who had failed to find a place in India’s playing XI, were spotted training hard in the nets.
Ajinkya Rahane (PIC BCCI)
KL Rahul (PIC BCCI)
Ishant Sharma (PIC BCCI)
Besides them, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara also marked their presence during team India’s practice session.
Hardik Pandya (PIC BCCI)
Virat Kohli (PIC BCCI)
Ravindra Jadeja, who was not available for the selection in the first Test due to viral fever, was also spotted spending time with teammates during the practice schedule.
Indian Players (PIC BCCI)
Interestingly R Ashwin, India’s main spinner for South Africa tour, was found practising bowling medium-pace in the nets.
ALSO READ: Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid celebrates birthday with U-19 Indian players in New Zealand
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) posted a video on their Twitter handle and captioned it as: “Just for fun – when @ashwinravi99 decided to bowl seam instead of spin.”
Just for fun – when @ashwinravi99 decided to bowl seam instead of spin #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/7bsCpndNkk
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 11, 2018
Well, whether it was just for fun or was it a part of the bowling strategy, only Ashwin and team management can tell.
ALSO READ: Faf du Plessis kisses Kagiso Rabada; is the pacer’s girlfriend miffed?
The second Test match will start on January 13.
