sanjeev
khelja|23-12-2024
With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy interestingly poised, Team India players are going through their drills to ensure they are on the mark when the 4th Test against Australia starts December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG is already sold out, and with the temperature expected to touch 40 degrees Celsius, the fielding team, in particular, could be in for a long day under the sun. Two days ahead of the MCG Test, Melbourne is slightly overcast, and hence, to prep the fielders up for what promises to be a highly engaging Test match, fielding coach T Dilip organised a new and unique fielding drill, with a cash prize of 300 dollars to be won.
Dilip set up three targets - two big stumps, two small stumps and a ball placed in the middle. Instructed to throw the ball from an angle, the player hitting the bigger stumps will earn one point; similarly, two points for striking the smaller stumps and four points for targeting the ball in the middle. To make things even more interesting, the players were divided into groups of three, with Sarfaraz Khan, Mohammed Siraj and Dhruv Jurel appointed captains. Sarfaraz captained Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Harshit Rana and Yashasvi Jaiswal in Group 1.
Group 2 featured Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Akash Deep, and Nitish Reddy, who reported to Mohammed Siraj, the captain. Jurel led Group 3, which comprised Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, and Prasidh Krishna.
"Today's target, you can see three stumps. The bigger stump will have one point, the smaller stump will have two points, and the ball in the centre will have four points. We are using angles today. You can see three markers. From each marker, each one will go six balls," Dilip told the players in a video posted by BCCI.