The Indian team has realised there is no substitute to hard work. They were seen going through painstaking practice session on Monday.
AHMEDABAD: The Indian team has realised there is no substitute to hard work. They were seen going through painstaking practice session on Monday.
Though injury prone Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh stayed away from the four-hour long class supervised by coach Gary Kirsten.
After getting a beating from the South Africans in the second Test at Motera here, it seems Kirsten has made his boys understand the importance of practice. Kirsten and fielding coach Robin Singh got into the mould right from the word go and made everyone toil hard.
The fielding at the nets was sub-standard. Apart from VVS Laxman and Mohammad Kaif most of the players failed to hit the stumps. Moreover the way they fielded upset Kirsten.
The South African observed that the players didn’t bend their back during pick-and-throw situation. In fact the 41-year-old was seen giving basics on fielding. The gestures clearly reflected that the ‘boss’ was not happy. Thirty minutes later, the caravan shifted to centre pitch of Motera stadium where intense batting session was waiting.
Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Mohammad Kaif showed some confidence when they faced the mixture of pace and spin. The fifth day wicket played very normal and didn’t trouble the batsmen much.
Opener Wasim Jaffer’s poor form was evident at nets when he tried to connect the ball. The Mumbaikar’s poor foot movement saw his middle stump uprooted by Irfan Pathan’s in coming delivery.
Not satisfied with Jaffer’s show, Kirsten gave him two sessions. Yuvraj Singh too was given enough time on the 22-yard-strip.
The batting session continued for around three hours. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was down with throat infection did some batting practice before returning to the team hotel. Kumble’s injury woes continued as he preferred to take rest. Indian captain who is scheduled to give fitness test a day before Test gets underway at Green Park on Friday.
Harbhajan suffering from stomach upset also preferred to stay at hotel. Munaf Patel, inducted for the do-or-die match, looked wayward while Sreesanth gave hints of some injury.
On the other side, the visitors took the charge of the ground at around 3.30pm. Showing thorough professionalism Graeme Smith and Co, without wasting anytime, commenced their session.
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