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India’s team are putting in every effort to get themselves in the groove for the second Test against England. The second match between the teams will kick start on 2nd February at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
India suffered a poor 28-run loss in the first Test as they failed to chase the target of 231 runs. The Rohit Sharma-led side would now be eager to stage a comeback in the second match and level the series 1-1. For that, preparations are in full swing as they were seen toiling hard in the net session.
The reports in PTI claimed that India’s batters were seen practicing sweep shots, which was a strong weapon for England in the first Test. India batters hardly played that shot. Only skipper Rohit Sharma resorted to the sweep shot but he couldn’t play big innings.
With the second Test against England just a few days away from now, Indian batters, in particular, Shubman Gill and Rajat Patidar were seen practicing both the conventional and reverse sweeps. The duo was mainly focussed on that whereas other batters played that shot timely.
The reports suggested that both Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan could be in line to make their debut for India in the second Test. Both the batters were seen practicing catching in slips. Both players were named as replacements for front-line batters in the team.
While Patidar joined in team as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who opted out of the two Tests, Sarfaraz Khan was called up to fill in the void of KL Rahul. With India batters struggling to get going against spinners, handing a debut to domestic giants could be a game-changer for them.
Apart from this, reports also claimed that England batter Joe Root was seen batting left-handed in the nets. This might come to tackle the challenge of the Indian spinner. After that, he practiced reverse sweeps and sweeps.
Spinner Jack Leach didn’t take part in the training session, which means he might not take part in the second match. In his place, uncapped Shoaib Bashir might be given the debut. England spinners had a great outing in the first match and would be hoping to do the same in the next match.
It is not something you can try – India batting coach Vikram Rathour
India batting coach Vikram Rathour was asked about his team batters playing sweep and reverse sweeps. Replying to this, he claimed that they play traditionally and sweeps don’t come naturally to them.
Vikram Rathour backed the Indian batters to play to their strengths by using their feet. He believes that along with that if batters can play some shots along with that, it will be good for the team. Speaking to reporters, he explained:
“It is not something you can try. You need to practice it. If you have more shots it is beneficial. We play in a traditional way. Our strength is going straight and using our feet. We need to do that well and if we can play some shots, that is always a good addition.”
India would be eager for the win in the second game. A loss here would put them on the back foot in the series. It remains to be seen what strategy will they apply for the next game.
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