Shubman Gill is leaving no stone unturned as the Indian captain is taking a special preparation ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka, starting in Galle from August 15. Having missed the first two days of the warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI due to a finger injury, Gill could only bat 54 balls for his knock of 44 runs in the second innings, as India won the game.
But those nine overs weren’t enough for Gill to counter Lankan challenge in his first Test tour in the Island nation. A day after the three-day warm-up ended, Gill prepared in a special way at the Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) on Monday in an optional practice session to understand and get used to the reverse swing that will be on offer in Galle Test.
According to a RevSportz report, the Indian management asked the NCC ground staff to keep the same strip ready that was used in the warm-up game. With cracks on it, the pitch was tailor-made for a Day 4 surface in this part of the country. The batters also took throwdowns in another wicket adjacent to the centre pitch.
India’s special training in Colombo
The Indian team management specifically carried Kookaburra balls to Sri Lanka as the upcoming Test series will be played with the same. After completing his warm-up, the Indian captain headed straight to the practice nets to take throw-downs from specialists Nuwan Seneviratne, Raghavedra Dwivedi and Dayanand Garani. In fact, Seneviratne belongs from Sri Lanka.
The report further added that the throw-down specialists were specifically asked by the Indian captain to use semi-old balls to understand the hint of reverse swing. Gill spent approximately 20 minutes with the throw-down specialists, before shifting to the centre-pitch to face Auqib Nabi.
Like the throw-down specialists, the uncapped Jammu and Kashmir pacer was also asked to bowl to Gill with semi-old balls so that he could gauge the reverse swing. It must be noted that unlike in Australia, where the new ball takes time to lose its shine, conditions in Sri Lanka are a bit different.