By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Nov 22
EVEN if wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha said he did not have an iota of knowledge about India asking matting wicket in nets, it is for sure that the think tank clearly has next month’s South Africa tour on mind.
After asking for a green top at Kolkata in the first Test, India moved a step further to get used to the pace and bounce, hence the matting wicket.
At the press conference Saha was asked about Indian management’s demand of a matting wicket and the Bengal stumper said he had no idea about any such thing.
However, in the nets Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahu l and others spent quite a lengthy time taking throwdowns from net bowlers as well as Sanjay Bangar on the matting wicket.
The ball skids fast on matting and it can bounce to a decent height too. With the wickets in South Africa being seamer-friendly, India have started their preparation in the right earnest.
Meanwhile, Indian captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and the entire
seam department—Umesh Yadav, Mohd Shami and Ishant Sharma, skipped the nets and preferred to rest at the hotel.
Murali Vijay, who will open on Friday, was the first to hit the nets along with KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara. While Vijay and Rahul decided to face throwdowns and pace bowlers, Pujara preferred to take on spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
Saha and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane followed the first three batsmen as did newcomer Vijay Shankar. Shankar also bowled a few overs in the nets and was seen taking valuable tips from chief coach Ravi Shastri.
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