Slip catching for the chef
It’s the last week for the England team in India and they wanted everyone in the touring party to get a feel of cricket at the picturesque Dharamsala Stadium. Post their warm-up and slip- fielding session, it was time to give the non-playing staff a feel of the action.
Skipper Ben Stokes took charge with the support staff, including chef David Pyle, stationed behind him for a slip-catching session of their own. Stokes threw down balls as Team doctor Glen Rae, media manager Danny Reuben, massage therapist Mark Saxby as well as Pyle, tried their best to grab the ball. The last one to hold on to a catch during the session was Pyle, generating the loudest cheer from the entire team.
Patidar’s net anxiety
The optional practice session on the eve of a game is a ritual for the Indian team, with the team management leaving it to individual players whether they want to turn up at the ground. A day before the final Test, one saw the less experienced players turning up for the net session. Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel came out to bat while Kuldeep Yadav and pacers Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar were seen rolling their arms over. Patidar had a few anxious moments as Akash got him out twice. The batsman, with a few low scores behind him, was soon back in the nets as he faced the pacers. Batting coach Vikram Rathour later asked him whether he wanted to face the India pacers or opt for throwdowns. Patidar chose to continue batting. However, for captain Rohit Sharma, he is a ‘talent player’ and the team management will continue to back the out-of-form batsman. “When you see certain players, I like to call them as talent players. If I watch someone’s batting and like it, I call him a talent player. I am not saying he’s talented, I like to call him a talent player,” Sharma said during the pre-match conference.
Stokes’ long spell
Ben Stokes was once again seen bowling for more than 20 minutes at the Dharamsala stadium. It was speculated that Stokes might return to bowling in competitive cricket during the fourth Test in Ranchi, but that didn’t happen. Stokes hasn’t bowled since last June and had also had a knee surgery. He has been bowling on the sidelines of all Test matches but it’s not clear when he will do so in a match. Stokes seems to be in no rush and is taking one step at a time. At Dharamsala, he bowled on the side pitches off his full run-up. He took his time but was getting a nice shape on his outswingers. With England trailing 3-1 in the series, it will be interesting to see if Stokes decides to add to the team’s bowling options over the next five days.
Feeling at home in alien conditions
Conditions and weather in Dharamsala make players feel as if they are playing away from India. The home team played a Test here in 2017 but the scenic beauty of the place often makes it difficult to focus on the game. It’s hard not to get mesmerised by the ambience, but the Indian team is not complaining according to the reports published in indianexpress.com .
“A Test match is different but we’ve played cricket in weather like this. We might not have played in India, but have played in England. I don’t believe it is a big challenge, where they’ve brought our team to a place where we don’t know what to do. We’ve been in such a situation before. It’s a different place, the view is so nice from the ground,” skipper Rohit Sharma said.
