Melbourne, Dec 21
Indian bowlers, led by pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep, had an intense bowling nets session ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia here on Saturday.
The five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is currently levelled at 1-1 after the rain-hit third Test ended in a draw at the Gabba in Brisbane. India had started their tour on a high with a thumping 295-run win in the series opener in Perth. However, they faltered in the pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval to suffer a 10-wicket drubbing and lost the early advantage.
Taking to social media, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of Indian bowlers sweating it hard in the nets to gear up for the fourth Test of the series. "There is no substitute for hard work. The relentless effort behind the scenes translates into success on the field. The Indian bowlers are ticking every box as we get ready for the Boxing Day Test," the BCCI added the caption on the video.
In the video, Bumrah, Siraj, Akash, Harshit Rana, and Yash Dayal were seen hitting the deck hard and honing their skills in the nets under the watchful eyes of head coach Gautam Gambhir. Spinners Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja were also seen bowling in the nets ahead of the crucial encounter.
Bumrah, who captained in the first Test in Perth, is the leading wicket-taker in the series so far with 21 scalps but he did not get the desired support from his teammates. The second bowler in the list - Mitchell Starc - is seven wickets behind Bumrah's tally while Australia captain Pat Cummins is third on the list with 14 scalps, the same as Starc.
Siraj is fourth on the list with 13 scalps to his name across six innings while Harshit and Akash have four and three wickets respectively.
On the batting front, the struggling forms of senior duo Virat Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma are major concerns for the Indian team heading into the business end of the series. Kohli, who scored a hundred in the second innings in Perth, has endured a series of low scores of 7, 11, and 3 in the following three innings while Rohit, who demoted himself to the middle order, has only accumulated 19 runs in the last two Tests. The Indian captain missed the first Test due to the birth of his second child and joined the side for the second Test in Adelaide.
Meanwhile, K.L. Rahul's sublime touch in the top order is a positive sign for the visiting team, with Yashasvi Jaiswal hoping to regain his form after scoring 161 runs in the second innings of the opening Test.
On the other hand, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant also need to step up to the occasion and look for big runs in the remaining two Tests of the series to support India's case for the World Test Championship final.
The fourth Test between India and Australia will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26.