IND vs SA: Team India players sweat it out in the nets ahead of Cape Town Test in bid to level series
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Image Source : PTITeam India players trained hard ahead of the second Test against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town. The second and final Test match is scheduled to take place from January 3. Rahul Dravid, the head coach, and Virat Kohli were seen discussing a few things during the net session.
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Image Source : PTI
Mukesh Kumar was spotted bowling in the nets and is a candidate to feature in the second Test as well. He might replace Prasidh Krishna in the final Test after the latter didn't bowl as per expectations on debut.
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Image Source : PTI
All the focus will be on India's new number three Shubman Gill as well. He looked good for a brief period in the second innings before succumbing but overall, the talented cricketer has struggled in the longest format of the game. It remains to be seen if his performance improves in the must-win Test match for India.
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Image Source : PTI
As always, Virat Kohli continues to hog the limelight even in the nets. He was the best Indian batter in Centurion and according to PTI, he also looked comfortable facing the simulation bowling of left-arm pacer Nandre Burger who troubled the Indian batters a lot in the opening Test.
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Image Source : PTI
Ravichandran Ashwin played the first Test only because Ravindra Jadeja was unavailable due to fitness issues. With not much help from the surface, he did the holding job and picked up only one wicket. But will he be able to keep his place if Jadeja is fit and available for selection? For now, it looks unlikely as India are expected to prefer only one spinner.
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Image Source : PTI
During the net session, head coach Rahul Dravid also didn't miss out on inspecting the pitch two days ahead of the Test match. The surface has a decent covering of grass and it remains to be seen if it will be watered in the next 24 hours to make it conducive for the pacers.