Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Rahul, Jaiswal likely to continue as Indian openers
What's the story
The Indian cricket team, under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, returned to training at the Adelaide Oval after their loss in the pink ball Test against Australia.
The practice session was rigorous and thorough, with all members of the squad involved.
Notably, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are likely to keep their opening slots for the rest of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Batting order
Rahul and Jaiswal to continue as openers
The broadcaster at the training session confirmed that there were no changes in India's batting order.
Rahul and Jaiswal opened the innings, followed by other stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Sharma, and Rishabh Pant.
This indicates that Rohit could continue to bat in the middle-order, leaving Rahul to open the innings.
Notably, The Indian skipper had poor outings during India's defeat in the pink-ball Test as he recorded scores worth 3 & 6.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Rohit missed the first Test of the ongoing series due to personal reasons. Rahul hence opened in his absence.
The latter impressed one and all with a 201-run stand for the opening wicket with Jaiswal in the third innings.
Owing to the same, Rahul continued as the opener in the second Test while Rohit batted at number six.
It seems like the batting order is unlikely to be reshuffled for the rest of the series.
Training scare
Pant resumes training after helmet hit
The training session was briefly interrupted when Pant was hit on his helmet by a bouncer. He had to stop his practice and get medical attention.
Rahul and Kohli, who were practicing in nearby nets, also stopped their training to check on Pant.
Thankfully, after being attended by the team's medical staff, Pant resumed batting in the nets.
Technique refinement
Kohli focuses on backfoot game
During the practice session, Kohli was spotted working on his backfoot.
This comes after he has been dismissed on several occasions due to front foot errors and edging the ball to the slips.
The training session in Adelaide gave him an opportunity to rectify this ahead of future matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
Bowling practice
Spinners Ashwin and Jadeja fine-tune skills
Along with the batters, top spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were also spotted sharpening their bowling skills during the practice session at the Adelaide Oval.
This comes after India's loss to Australia in the Adelaide Test, where they suffered a 10-wicket defeat, leveling the series 1-1.
The third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played at Brisbane's iconic venue- The Gabba, starting on December 14.