FOCUS on fielding
It's business as usual for Indian cricket team ahead of their fourth and final Test against England from Feb 4
It's business as usual for Team India. Despite their 21 lead over the England, in the four-test series, their quest for more is on cards, as they are emphasising on sharpness on the field for the fourth Test which gets underway at the Motera stadium from Thursday (Feb 4)
Indian cricket team shifted focus to fielding to ensure utmost sharpness in the upcoming fourth and final Test against England, having taken a 2-1 lead in the series, at the Motera stadium here on Tuesday.
The three senior players drove, pulled, and flicked against the fast bowlers and spinners at the stadium. Head coach Ravi Shastri also was seen interacting with Rohit and Kohli before the two-star batsmen sat together for a discussion.
After enduring a heavy 227-run defeat in the opening clash of the four-match series in Chennai, Team India bounced back in the competition in a remarkable manner and secured a gigantic 317-run victory in the following encounter at the same venue.
In the previous match, which assisted the spinners right from Day 1, the spin duo of R Ashwin and Axar combined to bundle out England for 112 and 81 in both the innings as the hosts wrapped up the proceedings inside two days.
The Indian team have been in a full-fledged practice session since a few day. Leading 2-1 in the series, India will be without top pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the final Test as he has been released from the squad.
While batsman Mayank Agarwal was seen taking a diving catch, all-rounder Washington Sundar was seen throwing the ball back seconds after collecting it at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Umesh Yadav also took part in the fielding drill ahead of the fourth Test. The Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India shared the glimpse from the fielding session.
BCCI shared a video on Twitter to give a sneak peek of the net session. In the video, India skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane can be seen batting in the nets while Rohit Sharma can be seen having a chat with head coach Ravi Shastri.
In the ongoing series, Rohit, Axar Patel, and Ravichandran Ashwin have been the standout performers and now in the fourth Test, skipper Kohli would look to come to the party and end his centurydrought.
Kohli had last scored a century way back in 2019 in a day-night Test against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens.
If India manages to win or draw the final Test against England, then the side will qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) and the side would take on New Zealand in the summit clash.
India had managed to defeat England by ten wickets within two days in the pink-ball Test. The match saw both India and England batsmen failing to shine and getting out to balls that did not tur n and skidded through from the spinners.
But critics have looked to blame the pitch for the failure of the batsmen. After the match, Rohit had clarified that he did not think the pitch had any demons. Even Kohli was vocal about the dreadful batting display from the two teams.
Shastri gets first dose
The Indian cricket team's head coach Ravi Shastri on Tuesday received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a city hospital here. "Got the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Thank you to the amazing medical professionals & scientists for empowering India Flag of India against the pandemic, the the 58-yearold former India cricketer tweeted. However, no other member of the Indian team's support staff was inoculated, a BCCI source confirmed.