India’s practice game – Gill’s injury and adjusting to conditions in focus

Image :Debasis Sen

Vaibhav Tripathi, Colombo

At the end, when the practice game came to an end, a certain Gautam Gambhir was seen smiling and laughing with Sitanshu Kotak and Sairaj Bahutule. Even the players looked in a jovial mood after defeating SLC XI in the practice match at the NCC. The way India played gave the team management plenty to smile about, especially on the last day, with Shubman Gill coming out to bat after being on the sidelines for two days. All the chatter around the Indian captain’s fitness was swept away once he batted in the middle without any sort of discomfort. Devdutt Padikkal’s century, along with the all-round brilliance of Ravindra Jadeja and Manav Suthar, meant Team India took plenty of positives from the game.

For India, more than individual performances, the main objective was to adapt to the conditions. Apart from Jadeja, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav, no other player had come to Sri Lanka for a Test series. Adaptability was the main objective of the game, as confirmed by Bahutule.

“Preparation is part of any tour. The reason for us to come at this juncture is to make sure we adapt to the conditions and understand what the pitches are like,” Bahutule said at the post-match press conference. “A few guys have come here, but for the new guys, they need to adapt. This helps in our preparation for the Galle Test. I think they used the practice match brilliantly.”

Before coming out to bat in the middle, Gill spent more than an hour in the nets. First, he faced throwdowns and then some spin. Once he was done, he had a look at his right hand. But not once did he check his right hand after opening the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Bahutule was quick to dismiss any concerns over Gill, saying the Indian captain was absolutely fine.

“It was just a precaution more than anything else,” Bahutule clarified regarding Gill’s injury. “He’s absolutely fine. The management decided that we should take the precaution of not putting him in on the first day. The way he batted in the second innings was flawless, and he’s very much ready for the Test match.”

A couple of drives through the off side to start his innings, followed by a straight drive and a pull shot in front of square, saw Gill bat flawlessly. The rest he got helped him recover from the blow to his right hand. He was seen experiencing some discomfort while fielding earlier in the day, but by the evening, any concerns had been erased.

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