Team India have kickstarted their training in Johannesburg ahead of the three-match Test series against South Africa. The series starts on Boxing Day in Centurion. Virat Kohli & Co will be desperate to register their first series on South African soil.
The entire Indian contingent landed in South Africa on December 16 and underwent one day of hard quarantine. On the first day, Team India had a good season of footvolley to relax before hitting the nets.
The likes of Kohli, Rahane looked determined in the nets timing the ball from the middle of the bat. The Indian captain was also seen talking to head coach Rahul Dravid about his batting technique.
Rishabh Pant, who skipped the Test series against New Zealand, also returned to the nets. The wicket-keeper batsman played a couple of shots off the back foot and looked in decent touch.
“Getting Test-match ready,” wrote BCCI while sharing the video.
Getting Test-match ready 👌 👌
🎥 Snippets from #TeamIndia's first practice session ahead of the first #SAvIND Test. pic.twitter.com/QkrdgqP959
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 19, 2021
The bowlers also looked in rhythm. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who were rested for the series against the Kiwis, also looked in rhythm in the training session.
“Our fast bowlers are our strength” – Cheteshwar Pujara on India pacers
Team India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has backed the Indian pacers to pick up 20 wickets in each Test as they look to quench their first series win in South Africa.
Speaking to the BCCI, Cheteshwar Pujara said:
“Our fast bowlers have been the difference between the sides overall when we have played abroad. If you look at the Australia and England series, we have done exceptionally well as a bowling unit.”
“Our fast bowlers are our strength (in South Africa) and I hope they can utilise the conditions and give us 20 wickets in each test match,” the veteran India batsman added.Â
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