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Tufan Ghosh has served nearly three decades in the healthcare and hospitality industries and was chosen in line with the CoA’s directives of finding a non-cricketing professional for the post

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2017The BCCI has appointed Tufan Ghosh as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru. Ghosh has served in the healthcare and hospitality industries for 29 years, including a stint as CEO of the private healthcare group Columbia Asia in 2005.”The BCCI now owns a consolidated 40 acres of land at Arebinnamangala village near the Aerospace Park region in Bengaluru where it wishes to set up the new NCA. Ghosh will play a key role in setting up the facility and creating a Centre of Excellence,” a BCCI press release said.The appointment comes after a deliberate search for a professional with management experience from outside cricketing circles by the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA).”We have got a master plan, vision and concept for the NCA ready,” CoA chairman Vinod Rai had said in an interview to ESPNcricnfo in November. “We identified that we needed to find a project manager to realise the vision. The ideal person will not be a cricketer because we felt such a large project needed someone with management experience.””In the short term – first three to five years – the person we are looking for is one who has the experience of having built such similar, big projects. It is a full-time position and he would be in charge of the NCA. But this person will not deal with the cricketing element of the NCA,” Rai had said.

For all his white-ball exploits in 2016, David Warner has endured one of his poorest years in Test cricket but is confident the tide will turn

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne24-Dec-20162:07

I’m hitting them well in the nets – Warner

It’s been a big year for David Warner.In January, he won the Allan Border Medal for the first time. Also in January he became a father for the second time, with the birth of his daughter Indi Rae.In August, he captained Australia for the first time, leading them to ODI and T20 series wins over Sri Lanka. Also in August, he was named Australia’s Sporting Father of the Year.In September, he smashed two ODI hundreds in South Africa, and in December he plundered back-to-back centuries against New Zealand in the Chappell-Hadlee Series. In all, 2016 has been a stunning year for Warner in ODIs: 1388 runs at 63.09 and seven hundreds. Only Sachin Tendulkar has made more ODI centuries in a year (nine in 1998).Along the way, Warner has earned a new nickname from his team-mates. Once, he was the Bull, but they believe the Bull has been tamed somewhat by the responsibilities of vice-captaincy and fatherhood. He is now The Reverend.And yet for all the white-ball runs that Warner has made in 2016, for all the personal highlights along the way, there is one considerable caveat: 2016 has been Warner’s worst year in Test cricket. With just one Test left in the year, he has managed just 604 runs at 35.52; prior to 2016, his lowest yearly tally was 788, scored in 2012, which was his first full year as a Test cricketer.Warner’s only Test hundred of 2016 so far came in the first Test of the year, the washed-out SCG Test against West Indies in January. There, he blasted a quick unbeaten 122, but it was an innings of no value, for it came on day five as Australia batted for the first time in a match that was utterly ruined by rain. In 18 innings, he has only two half-centuries and that one hundred.”It’s just a little bit of a cycle, I think,” Warner said on Saturday. “I go out there every time I go out to bat, trying to put as many runs as I can on the board. Same mindset, same sort of process I go through with training.”At the moment I’m hitting them well enough in the nets and not making them in the middle. The tide will change. Many players before have experienced the same thing. I’ve just got to keep a level head, cool head and make sure that I watch every ball as hard and as closely as I can.”One of Warner’s more surprising failures in 2016 came in his most recent innings, when he was beaten for pace by Mohammad Amir and pulled a catch on 12. It was the second innings at the Gabba and Australia already had a lead of nearly 300. Warner had license to look for quick runs to build a big target, precisely the sort of innings in which he has often thrived before.”In the nets I’m hitting them well. But you’ve got to try and take that out on the field,” he said. “Sometimes you see a ball there that might be to hit, like the other day. Probably in white-ball cricket I wouldn’t think twice about pulling that ball, and the other day he beat me for pace.”They’re just the little things that come into your mind, going ‘okay, we’ve got some runs on the board, I want to up the ante a little bit’. You can afford to do that. It’s just about execution, and the other day was a bit of poor execution. I’ve got to keep going out there and backing myself.”And while Warner would love nothing more than to finish the year with a bang, history suggests it will be tough. Not only has 2016 been his least productive Test year, the MCG is his least productive Test venue. It is the only Test ground in Australia at which Warner has not scored a century, and the only one where he averages less than 50. His MCG average? 24.22.Warner has so far played in five Boxing Day Tests and has managed only one half-century – he made 62 against Sri Lanka at the MCG four years ago. Last year, he made starts in both innings against West Indies but then fell playing his shots against short deliveries. Perhaps Warner would do well to heed the words MCG curator David Sandurski.”Melbourne isn’t the sort of wicket where you can’t just go blasting off from ball one,” Sandurski said on Saturday. “You’ve got to take your time and get used to the conditions, because the weather here can be so inconsistent that it is hard to get a wicket spot-on. It’s a pretty good idea for a batsman to be cautious early before he gets going.”A good idea in theory, maybe. But good luck preaching caution to this Reverend.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is set to become the oldest player to lead a Test team for the first time since Somachandra de Silva in 1983, during Sri Lanka’s tour of Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-20161:01

Seventeen years after making his Test debut, Rangana Herath is set to captain Sri Lanka for the first time

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath is set to become the oldest player to lead a Test team for the first time since Somachandra de Silva in 1983, after he was named captain of Sri Lanka for the tour of Zimbabwe because Angelo Mathews is injured.Sri Lanka’s regular vice-captain, Dinesh Chandimal, was also unavailable for the two-Test series because of a thumb injury sustained during a domestic game, for which he had to have surgery. Herath, 38, will be only the second bowler to lead Sri Lanka in Tests, after de Silva.Mathews had torn his calf during the fourth ODI against Australia in August and had not recovered sufficiently, despite being named in the original squad for the tour of Zimbabwe on October 21. He is expected to be out of action for three weeks and is doubtful for the tri-series in Zimbabwe, also involving West Indies, that follows the Tests. No replacement was named yet for Mathews.Herath played 71 ODIs and 17 T20Is for Sri Lanka and did not captain in those formats either. He retired from limited-overs cricket in April this year to focus on Test cricket and played the defining role – 28 wickets – in Sri Lanka’s 3-0 whitewash of Australia in July and August. Seventeen years after having made his debut in 1999, Herath is set to make his captaincy debut, in his 74th Test.

The chance to show off their depth rather than the concerns of whether the waters may be too shallow is how Hashim Amla has described the challenge South Africa face in Bangalore

Firdose Moonda in Bangalore13-Nov-20152:12

‘Fortunate to have depth in our bowling’ – Amla

The chance to show off their depth rather than the concerns of whether the waters may be too shallow is how Hashim Amla has described the challenge South Africa face in Bangalore. His team go into the match without two of three first-choice fast bowlers, after Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn were ruled out of the series and match respectively, leaving South Africa with a young attack who Amla believes will be able to fill big shoes.”A series is generally won with 15 players and not just 11,” Amla said. “Obviously losing Dale – the best bowler in the world – and Vernon – arguably the best allrounder in the world – changes the dynamics of our team but the guys who are going to be replacing them are quality cricketers and we are very fortunate to have great depth in our bowling attack.”South Africa’s new-look pace pack will be led by Morne Morkel, who has recovered from the quad strain that kept him out of the last two ODIs and the first Test, and seconded by Kyle Abbott and Kagiso Rabada. Between them, they have played just four Tests and Rabada only one – South Africa’s previous one in Mohali – but they will be need to take on the roles of much more experienced men. But Amla brushed off worries about his attack being too green.”Things like this happen and sometimes you get fairy tales coming out of these type of things. If Kyle rocks up and has an amazing day then so be it,” he said.Abbott has already been part of one Cinderella story. On debut, he stood in for Jacques Kallis, who missed the 2013 Centurion Test against Pakistan with a calf injury and became the second most successful South African on debut. He took 7 for 29 in the first innings and finished the match with nine scalps.Although he has not had the same success in the two other Tests he played – as part of a four-man pace pack against Australia in March 2014 and against West Indies in December 2014 – he has done well when filling in for the likes of Philander and Steyn in ODI cricket and is regarded as South Africa’s go-to deputiser.”Over the last couple of years Kyle has been one of our outstanding reserve bowlers. Whenever he has had an opportunity for us in T20s, ODIs and even in Tests, he has done exceptionally well,” Amla said. “It’s great to have him back.”Abbott will be back barely after stepping off the plane, having arrived in India on Thursday evening. Less than 48 hours later he could be on the field but Amla is not worried about jet-lag either. “Kyle is a wonderful professional and when he puts his boots on he’s ready, even if he got off the plane 10 minutes before he bowled the first ball,” Amla said.South Africa’s desperation to use Abbott comes because they see him as a like-for-like replacement for both Philander and Steyn because of his consistency and his ability to swing the ball. “He brings a little bit of what Vernon brings in terms of consistency, you kind of know what you are going to get, he is extremely consistent in where he lands the ball,” Amla said. “He brings a lot of control and he has got a great know-how of what he wants to do.”Abbott stood in for Philander at the 2015 World Cup, where he played four matches including the quarter-final because Philander was battling a hamstring injury. Abbott finished with South Africa’s best average in the tournament – 14.44 – and was controversially replaced in the semi-final when Philander regained fitness. The irony of Abbott now replacing Philander will not be lost on the many who followed the story of Abbott being left out of the semi-final XI for what was later revealed as political, not tactical, considerations.This time there are no politics involved, only strategy. South Africa seem set on three seamers in every match, not fewer, because they don’t want to leave too much for their part-timer bowlers, specifically JP Duminy, to do. Duminy has recovered from a cut on his hand and will be back in the XI but selector Ashwell Prince, speaking on a television show, said Duminy’s focus should be his batting.”I would like him, if he comes back into the team, to play as a batsman, a world-class batsman… the responsibility of his off spin needs to come off his shoulders. It must be seen as a bonus, as with Dean Elgar’s left-arm spin,” Prince said.Amla seems to be leaning the same way. He spoke about Duminy’s value as a batsmen above the options he provides with ball in hand. “JP has been a quality player over many years for us. He bats in a crucial position down at No. 5, 6 and 7. In all forms of cricket, that’s the business end of the game,” Amla said. “He brings a lot of know-how and experience to the middle order and his off spin has been vital for us.”Duminy will do some bowling but all indications are that South Africa will continue to rely on their traditional strength in seamers although not all their strong men are available anymore.

Prasanna Jayawardene will go to hospital for X-rays after he was hit on the thumb by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer during Sri Lanka’s first innings at the MCG

Andrew Fernando at the MCG26-Dec-2012Prasanna Jayawardene has suffered a hairline fracture to the top of his right thumb after being hit by a Mitchell Johnson bouncer during Sri Lanka’s first innings at the MCG. That delivery was the last Jayawardene faced, as the ball caught the shoulder of the bat after hitting his thumb, and ballooned to Phillip Hughes in the slip cordon. Jayawardene made 24.Team management are yet to determine whether Jayawardene will keep wickets on day two, but in the meantime Kumar Sangakkara has taken the gloves in his stead, and will keep for the remainder of day one.Sri Lanka’s 12th man Dinesh Chandimal also keeps wickets, but cannot stand in behind the stumps as he is a substitute. A year ago, he replaced Jayawardene on Sri Lanka’s tour of South Africa as wicketkeeper-batsman.”There was some bruising on his thumb after his innings, so we thought we’d better check,” team manager Charith Senanayake said, before X-rays revealed the extent of the injury.December 26 5.35am GMT This story has been updated to include news of Jayawaradene’s hairline fracture

Durham fought back with the ball to ease the gloom that has descended after two poor sessions against Middlesex on day one at Chester-le-Street

Les Smith at Chester-le-Street27-Jul-2012
ScorecardChris Rogers was one of very few players to look settled in difficult conditions•PA Photos

The “R” word was being uttered in low muttered tones around Chester-le-Street today, both at lunch, when Durham were 61 for 6, and at tea, with Middlesex 63 for 1. One interested party was even heard to ponder on the last year in which a team was ushered out of Division One of the County Championship without winning a match. Then Paul Collingwood gave the ball to his excellent young allrounder Ben Stokes, and the colour began to return to Durham supporters’ cheeks.For the first two thirds of the day Middlesex had been playing like a side that has by no means given up hope of being in the shake up at the healthy end of the table in September. Proficiently marshalled by Chris Rogers, who won the toss, they bowled excellently and were virtually without fault in the field. Tim Murtagh was the stand out player, taking three cheap wickets, including both Durham openers, and contributing in addition a run out and a catch. Wicketkeeper John Simpson took four catches, the last of his victims being top scorer Michael Richardson, whose edge to third slip somehow made its way out of Sam Robson’s hands and into Simpson’s gloves.On a low scoring day, Rogers was one of only two batsmen who ever looked truly established. Opening Middlesex’s reply he was busy and pugnacious, his 59 runs including ten boundaries. Just when it appeared that he might lead his side into a commanding position, a delivery by Graham Onions found the edge of his bat and Ben Stokes took a fine low catch at third slip.The Middlesex middle order is loaded with left handers, and when Stokes took the ball as second change, he took a liking to them, dismissing Simpson and Eoin Morgan for one run between them, having opened his account by having Joe Denly caught at second slip. Collingwood took three catches in the slips, the outstanding effort being a trademark leaping pluck out of the sky to dispose of Simpson.At the start of the day it soon became clear that Rogers’ faith in his attack to establish control of the match was justified. Murtagh was relentlessly accurate, and having trapped Will Smith lbw for no score, proceeded to threaten consistently the outside edge of the bat, and had both Mark Stoneman and Scott Borthwick caught behind the wicket. Gareth Berg also took three wickets, all three going without scoring, and Steven Finn dismissed Collingwood and Richardson.Ben Stokes, batting at four, was one of four Durham batsmen to fail to score, being run out by Murtagh. He made amends with the ball, though, ending the day with figures of 3 for 29 from 13 overs. When the Middlesex innings is over, however, it might well be judged that Gareth Berg’s all-round contribution has been more significant. He came to the wicket with Middlesex 86 for 5, and proceeded calmly and with assurance to restore some order, scoring 30 and contributing to partnerships of 26 and 32 with Dawid Malan and Ollie Rayner respectively. Berg was still there at the close, but Rayner was not. The last over of the day was Scott Borthwick’s first, and Rayner hit the first ball back to him for a return catch.Middlesex will go into day two with a lead of 42 and three wickets remaining, which on today’s evidence might prove to be very handy.

Essex were left with a daunting victory target of 360 to beat Glamorgan at Chelmsford and record their first Championship success of the season

29-Apr-2011
ScorecardEssex were left with a daunting victory target of 360 to beat Glamorgan at Chelmsford and record their first Championship success of the season.Much is likely to depend on Alastair Cook who reached the close on 23 in a response of 34 for one after Billy Godleman had been dismissed without a run on the board.Glamorgan had earlier totalled 335 in their second innings, thanks largely to consistent rather than spectacular batting, with nine players registering double figures. Mark Wallace was the main contributor, hitting a fluent 82 from 96 deliveries before he was last out driving David Masters to long on with the bowler finishing with 5 for 73.Wallace’s effort included two sixes and six fours, after opener Gareth Rees had struck a resolute 54 from 125 balls. Rees was trapped leg before by slow left-arm spinner Tim Phillips, who also removed William Bragg for 48 and Michael Powell for 33 on his way to figures of 4 for 97.The fast bowler beat the bat on a few occasions without reward and also saw Lonwabo Tsotsobe put down a simple catch at mid-on offered by Powell. Tsotsobe’s disappointing day was compounded by him sending down 16 overs without reward while conceding 57 runs, and many of those deliveries the batsman allowed to go harmlessly by.When they embarked upon their stiff task, James Harris removed Godleman with the fifth delivery of the innings, pinning the left-hander in front of his stumps to gain and lbw decision.But Cook refused to let that early setback disturb him, and three times found the boundary with confident strokes at the expense of Adam Shantry. But on a couple of occasions he was beaten by the impressive Harris. However, he and Jaik Mickleburgh survived until the close.Glamorgan, however, go into the final day as favourites, even though they will be without the services of Huw Waters, one of their strike bowlers. He is suffering from back trouble and will not bowl again in the match.

If Bangladesh win the third ODI against Mirpur, they will have not lost an ODI series against major opposition for the first time ever

The Preview by George Binoy10-Oct-2010

Match Facts

Monday, October 11, Mirpur

Start time 09:00 local (03:00 GMT)Shakib Al Hasan’s performance will be pivotal to Bangladesh’s chances of pulling off another upset•Associated Press

The Big Picture

New Zealand’s best-laid plans of preparing for the 2011 World Cup by scheduling series in each of the host nations are being laid to waste. They went to Sri Lanka first, to give their inexperienced team insight into the conditions there, but didn’t perform adequately enough to make the tri-series final. A tour of India will follow, but only after their ongoing assignment in Bangladesh, where a depression over the Bay of Bengal has caused enough rain to wreck their first ten days in the country. Both warm-ups were washed out, as was an international, and the only ODI New Zealand played ended in a nine-run defeat on D/L terms.There was, though, a shimmer of hope ahead of Monday’s match. The intensity of the depression had eased and the sun shone, albeit briefly, on the eve of the third ODI, allowing the Shere-e-Bangla Stadium time to recover from all the rain. New Zealand, who have been confined indoors for a while, were finally able to practice outside and get a feel of Mirpur. Brendon McCullum, their opening batsman, spoke of a sense of frustration at the weather, and hoped New Zealand would be able to play the remaining three games. Trailing 1-0 in the five-ODI series, they now have to win three in a row to leave Bangladesh with a trophy.The hosts have challenges of their own to overcome. They are without Mashrafe Mortaza and Nazmul Hossain, both of whom were involved in the victory but are ruled out by injury. More importantly, however, they face the challenge of achieving collective consistency. If not for Shakib Al Hasan’s quality all-round performance, it’s likely that New Zealand would have taken the series lead and Bangladesh will find it hard to string wins together on the back of a single man’s performance. All of the top six batsman got to double figures in the first ODI, but only Shakib made it past 40. It’s an issue their opening batsman, Shariar Nafees, said needed urgent addressing. Bangladesh are one win away from not losing the series, an accomplishment they’ve never achieved against a major opposition, not counting a weakened West Indies.

Form guide

(most recent, completed matches)
Bangladesh: WLWLL
New Zealand: LLLWW

Watch out for…

New Zealand’s opening batsmen, Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, are among the most watchable opening pairs in international cricket today. McCullum is forever innovating, opening up previously unexploited regions with inventive stroke play, while Ryder possesses oodles of talent. He’s also remarkably quick for someone who could be several kilos lighter. They added 53 in 6.5 overs in the first ODI before Ryder fell. The goal will be to convert an explosive start into something more damaging.Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh’s captain again for the remainder of the series because of Mortaza’s injury. He is also their most valuable match-winner, especially in the absence of Tamim Iqbal. He made 58 in the first game and his four wickets were crucial in dragging New Zealand below the D/L equation. A lesser performance from him and Bangladesh will struggle to make it 2-0.

Pitch and conditions

The Mirpur square has spent a lot of time under covers and McCullum expected it to not change too much from the way it played in the first game – slow without massive turn. The rains had eased considerably on the eve of the match but there was some showers forecast for Monday. The third ODI is unlikely to be a complete washout though.

Team news

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Imrul Kayes, 2 Shahriar Nafees, 3 Junaid Siddique, 4 Raqibul Hasan, 5 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 6 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 7 Mahmudullah, 8 Naeem Islam, 9 Abdur Razzak, 10 Rubel Hossain/Shafiul Islam, 11 Syed Rasel.New Zealand (probable): 1 Jesse Ryder, 2 Brendon McCullum (wk), 3 Ross Taylor, 4 Grant Elliott, 5, 6 Kane Williamson/BJ Watling/Shannan Stewart, 7 Daniel Vettori (capt), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Daryl Tuffey.

Stats and trivia

• Daniel Vettori needs two wickets to become the highest wicket-taker in New Zealand-Bangladesh bilateral contests. Unless the incumbent, Kyle Mills, adds to his tally of 27.
• Imrul Kayes averages 34.20 against New Zealand, which is the highest for a Bangladesh batsman with a minimum of five innings.

Quotes

“I’m a positive scorer when going well … I would like to cement myself in the team with a couple of match-winning performances.”
“Shakib is definitely a world-class player and you will have to check him if you want to win matches.”
.

Having picked up his first five-wicket haul for Australia, Nathan Hauritz has declared his intentions to make the spinner’s spot his own for a long time to come.

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG31-Dec-2009Nathan Hauritz has played ten Tests over the past year but without a sense of security. There has always been the feeling that he was a temporary solution, filling a gap while Australia’s selectors decided on their next long-term Test spinner. But after a chat with Shane Warne helped him collect his first five-wicket haul for his country, Hauritz has declared his intentions to make the Test spot his own for a long time to come.The timing of Hauritz’s career-best was important. Last week, the chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch challenged him to become a dangerous fourth-innings bowler and said that while Hauritz was very capable, the selectors would “continue to look for that next group of spin bowlers” who would be part of the team in the coming decade.That made Hauritz’s 5 for 101 in the fourth innings of the Boxing Day Test victory over Pakistan extra special. He knows how quickly a spinner can fall out of favour – since Warne’s retirement Australia have used seven slow men in Tests – and has had the legspinner Steven Smith hovering in the shadows over the past two matches.”The most important thing is not to put too much pressure on myself in those situations,” Hauritz said after bowling Australia to a 170-run victory. “I probably have a little bit at times, just trying to get those wickets to try and silence a few people and let people know that I can bowl and I’ve earned this spot and I’m here for a long time.”Smith enjoyed a one-on-one net session with Warne during the Boxing Day Test and it was Warne’s advice that helped Hauritz deliver his best performance. Hauritz said the advice from Warne on the fifth morning was to be patient, alter his lines and force the batsmen to hit the ball where he wanted it to go, not where they wanted to play it.”Since I’ve been part of this squad he has been trying to get me … to get the batsman to hit in areas they don’t want to and being able to have the confidence to put the ball in that area,” Hauritz said. “When I first started I was quite happy to bowl outside off but have a 5-4 field so they wouldn’t play there.”I’m trying to get batsmen out a lot more now. I didn’t bowl as accurately as I normally can at times in this last innings but I definitely bowled more attacking lines and tried to make them hit in areas which they felt uncomfortable. It can be pretty tough at times when you’re getting hit back over your head all the time. In the end it worked in my favour being able to get a stumping and getting batsmen trapped on the crease.”His final breakthrough came with a top-edged swipe that was taken at midwicket, giving him his first five-wicket-haul in first-class cricket, while his previous best in Tests was three in an innings. When he began his state career with Queensland he hadn’t taken a five-for at club level – he has now – so the feeling of pressure to perform was familiar.It’s not unheard of for bowlers to deliver a five-wicket bag in Tests before state cricket; Jason Krejza had never taken five in a first-class match until his eight-for on Test debut in Nagpur last year. Krejza lasted only one more Test before being dropped but Hauritz, who played a one-off Test in 2004 before waiting four years for his second. He is confident that his best performance is a sign of bigger things to come.”It’s pretty significant,” Hauritz said. “It’s my first five-for in first-class and Tests. I am very happy to take that five-wicket haul. I hope it is the start of something good. It has been a pretty tough road. There have been good moments and bad moments and this is definitely one that I will remember.”The next step is to continue delivering Test-quality performances and that challenge begins at the SCG, where the second Test starts on Sunday. Despite the ground’s reputation for favouring spin, Hauritz has only 16 first-class wickets at 55.75 there, and he was anticipating a good batting pitch once again.”I don’t expect it to be too much different to what it normally is,” he said. “It is generally a pretty good batting track for the first few days. The first morning it can offer a little bit, I have seen finger-spinners do well there on the first morning because it is a little bit tacky. I don’t expect it to be too much different.”

The India captain emphasised that the team management doesn’t want to tamper with the batters’ mindsets

Alagappan Muthu24-Dec-20244:16

Rohit on Gill and Jaiswal: Such tours can be challenging to score big runs

India’s batting is in transition and two men who are expected to take it forward have had an up-and-down time during the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Yashasvi Jaiswal has suffered some soft dismissals since his 161 in Perth and Shubman Gill hasn’t made the most of the starts he’s had.Their captain Rohit Sharma, speaking ahead of the Boxing Day Test, backed both players to succeed using their own methods.”When you have a guy like [Jaiswal] in your squad, in your team, you don’t want to tamper too much with his mindset,” Rohit said. “Let him be as free as possible and not overburdened with too many thoughts regarding his batting. He understands his batting more than any one of us, you know.Related

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“Every venue here has different challenges. So, it’s just about adapting to those challenges, playing on different pitches. The bowlers are the same.”So, it’s just about understanding what they usually do and what are their plans against certain batters when we come out to bat. And then just going out there and doing their thing.”Talking about Gill, I mean, look, he is quality, we all know that. It’s just about backing that quality and making sure, you know, we give clear messaging to him and not, again, like Jaiswal, we don’t want to complicate too many things with him.”So he knows how to score big runs. So it’s just making sure that when you get those 30s, 40s, you try and get on to a big one. Because getting in here is the toughest part. And when you get in, that is when you cannot leave that opportunity of scoring that big runs.”Rohit batted for over half-an-hour in India’s final training session before Boxing Day. He didn’t look in any trouble after taking a blow to his knee earlier.There were some crisp shots, including a couple that brought a crowd of about 200 or so people to raptures. They’d asked for the pull and they got one off the front foot right as his session ended. Rohit didn’t engage with them while he was batting but once he’d pulled his pads off, he did go over for a playful word or two.Rohit Sharma backed Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to succeed using their own methods•Getty Images

India were able to practice on significantly quicker pitches in the nets on Christmas Eve, pitches that might bear closer resemblance to the one for the match. Rohit had a look at it on Sunday when it had some grass on it. The curator Matt Page said there won’t be excessive seam movement but that it would provide a thrilling contest.”In the previous two or three Test matches, the wicket didn’t have that much grass on it,” Rohit said. “It was dry. But this certainly doesn’t look to me like a dry wicket.”The first day of the MCG Test is expected to be seriously hot with temperatures reaching 40 degree Celsius but then it should cool down. India are weighing up the option of playing an extra spinner – Washington Sundar, who had a bat against the main bowlers including Jasprit Bumrah and who also enjoyed himself bowling to KL Rahul and Virat Kohli in the nets – or an extra seamer – Prasidh Krishna, who hasn’t played on this tour but has put in a lot of work in the nets over the last month.The Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is tied 1-1 with two Test to go and those results will also have an implication on both teams’ hopes of making the World Test Championship final in June. Australia or India, if they can win in Melbourne and Sydney, will qualify for that game regardless of other results.