Yesterday, India stalwart Rahul Dravid spent 15 to 20 minutes chatting with Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) curator Dhiraj Parsana, after batting for almost two hours at the nets
Yesterday, India stalwart Rahul Dravid spent 15 to 20 minutes chatting with Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) curator Dhiraj Parsana, after batting for almost two hours at the nets. Later, he strolled down to the pitch and tried to get a feel of conditions, without a bat in hand.
Remember, the batting stalwart scored a century the last time India played a Test here.
Harbhajan Singh had a long batting session ufffd perhaps aiming a maiden Test century during the course of the series. He enjoyed a similarly long session on Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, New Zealand players practiced in the morning at the GCA's Cricket Academy ufffd a session that lasted almost four hours. With a bunch of unknown players to boot, the Kiwis are hoping to spring a surprise against the mighty Indians, starting tomorrow.
Chris Martin, a veteran of 181 Test wickets, threw down hundreds of deliveries in an effort to prepare for the stern test ahead. Later, at a press conference, the seamer said:u00a0 "If practice pitches are anything to go by, seamers should play a role. The stats for the last three series in India prove that quickies and spinners have shared wickets. It gives me hope that the wicket might deteriorate and I could get into the act."
Jesse Ryder bowled for almost an hour, while Brendon McCullum, who is tipped to make his debut as a Test opener, also had a long session.u00a0 The duo, along with Ross Taylor, is expected to carry the bulk of the workload in the batting department. Strike bowler Martin, too, had an extended session.
