Adelaide:
The pink ball presents a different challenge — it can swing a bit more for longer, the seam is a little different but the biggest challenge is getting used to spotting it. On Tuesday, Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey said it tends to “flicker” under lights and because you don’t play against it all the time, there is a getting-used-to-it period.
And that is precisely what India skipper Rohit Sharma was out to do when India started their net session. The 37-year-old missed the first Test due to the birth of his child and he doesn’t have the same level of acclimatisation as the rest of the team. So, he got into the batting nets before the others, and under the watchful eye of assistant coach Abhishek Nayar to make sure that his technical adjustments for the Australia tour were spot on.
The adjustments that batters have to make for different conditions are often underrated in terms of difficulty. For some, the big change is mental — getting used to the idea of leaving more deliveries. For others, it’s about getting the footwork sorted. Still more try to get used to playing certain kinds of shots.
The India skipper, though, was focused on his footwork. Nayar was giving him feedback after each delivery. It is a tiny adjustment from his usual way; something that has been done specifically with Australian conditions in minds. But it still seems to be a work in progress and from that perspective, the next couple of days are vital.
Rohit would get it right every once in a while and at other times, he was plonking his foot there. But the thing about footwork is that it has to be a natural response to the delivery. Something that you don’t quite have to think about because the moment you do, it could be too late.
But then towards the end of the 30-minute session, Rohit started to get it right. A smile from Nayar and a nod: “That was perfect. This is what you want to do. It seemed natural.”
A pleased Rohit took a break from batting and then proceeded to the main ground for fielding practice. After jumping through the hoops there, he was back in the nets later. This time under the lights.
India don’t play as much day/night cricket as Australia but the hosts also played their last day/night almost a year ago (Jan 2024, against the West Indies), so they need to get as used to it as the Indians.
For the record, India have won three of their four day-night men’s Tests, with their only loss in that period coming against Australia at Adelaide Oval in December 2020. Australia, on the other hand, lost their last day-night men’s Test by eight runs to the West Indies in January 2024 after winning all their 11 previous day-night matches.
So the session under lights was just as important for Rohit. He had lasted just 11 balls in the tour game at Canberra and it was time to get serious. The India skipper was in a proactive mood — having conversations with bowlers, the coaching staff and Bumrah. Advice was being freely offered and then it was time to get the focus back on his own batting.
Akash Deep was bowling up a storm — he beat all the Indian batters multiple times and was getting the ball to come in quite sharply at times. He gave Rohit a tough time too and the right-hander was appreciative of it as well.
By the end of the session, each Indian batter seemed to be working on something very specific. Yashasvi Jaiswal wanted to master the pull and the hook shot. Rishabh Pant wanted to play some drives. Virat Kohli was looking to get his leaves right.
Much of it was down to the pink ball and the fact that it does a little more than the red ball. A bit of recalibration is needed and it was fascinating to see how some of the best in the business go about doing just that.
India have a couple more days of this before the Test begins and they will be trying to make sure they cover as many bases as possible. It is a race against time but one that only builds the sense of anticipation.