With an aim to avert a whitewash, Team India got down to the business at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Monday in an intense practice session. India had lost the first Test in Cape Town by 72 runs and were beaten in the second match at Centurion by 135 runs to surrender an unassailable lead. Ranked number one in the world in the whites, the visiting team will look to salvage pride in the third Test beginning in Johannesburg on January 24.
Under-fire batsman Rohit Sharma who had an ordinary series so far by his standards played some cracking shots in the nets. Whereas, opener KL Rahul who suffered a blow to his left knee off the bowling of pacer Ishant Sharma on Sunday was also seen in action. Rahul gave some much-needed catching practice to the team's slip cordon.
He later batted again though, shrugging off any worries over his injury.
The players enjoyed three days off after that hurtful loss, taking time to visit various safari and theme parks in and around Johannesburg.
Earlier on Sunday as well, the visitors spent nearly four hours in the nets, in a bid to end this series with their heads held high as the world's No 1 Test ranked side.
Noticeably, skipper Virat Kohli, who had a fiery press conference in aftermath of the Centurion loss, was in a jovial mood as he chatted around with his teammates and local net bowlers during practice.
After a customary warm-up game of football, the players got down to working on their skill sets. Fielding coach R Sridhar was the first to put in a serious shift, with Parthiv Patel, KL Rahul, and Ajinkya Rahane working together as the slip cordon. Later, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik joined in as the trio moved to batting nets.
(With PTI Inputs)
