Team India’s preparation for the IND vs AUS tour have not started on a bright note. First, it was KL Rahul who sustained an elbow injury during the intra-squad match, then Virat Kohli sustained a mysterious injury, and that was followed by Rishabh Pant. But then, all seems to be fine with the three players in question.
Virat Kohli & Rishabh Pant Fine
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, Virat Kohli showed no signs of discomfort, while Rahul looked decent during his stay at the wicket, during the intra-squad match. Even though the latter did not return to the field after that, but it is believed that Rahul is fine, and would be opening the batting for India, along with Yashasvi Jaiswal, in the absence of Rohit Sharma, in the first Test, in Perth that starts on November 22.
Coming to Virat Kohli, even though there were reports that he had undergone scans, but he played well for his 15, before a Mukesh Kumar delivery trapped him for 15, at the second slip. If that was not enough, he spent 30 minutes in the nets after that.
Lastly, even though Rishabh Pant wasn’t the most comfortable after he sustained a groin injury, but still managed to hold his own, before being dismissed by Nitish Kumar Reddy. At the end of the practice session, the batting side was 106/5 in 28 overs. Shubman Gill was the other batter, who was dismissed for 28.
IND vs AUS, Intra-squad Match
As far as the bowling side is concerned, Washington Sundar and Tanush Kotian had a longish spell. The Indian batting side got another chance to bat with Jaiswal and Gill taking the aggressive road. Yashasvi Jaiswal looked the best among the lot, against short-deliveries, and scored 52, while Gill chipped in with 42.
Later on, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant faced a lot of short deliveries from Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Kumar. Though he struggled, but Virat managed to score 30. At the end of the day, Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep combined to conclude the day on 339/8 in 75 overs.