Perth (Australia): India captain Rohit Sharma hit the nets following his arrival in Perth as the team led by his deputy Jasprit Bumrah, slowly but surely closed towards a dominant victory over Australia in the opening Test of the five-match series for Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024.
Rohit, who was on a paternity leave following the birth of his son, arrived in Perth on Sunday. He was first spotted while watching the first Test sitting behind head coach Gautam Gambhir in the dressing room. Later, he was seen batting in the nets during the lunch session on Monday as he faced reserve pacers Navdeep Saini, Yash Dayal and Mukesh Kumar.
India's captain Rohit Sharma is looking in good touch! 🔥👀
— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) November 25, 2024
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📲 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/qvhPusIMRE pic.twitter.com/byAnmNzLKc
The Indian contingent will travel to Canberra on Wednesday for a two-day tour game starting November 30. That practice game doesn't have first-class status. However, the match will be crucial considering it is a 'Pink Ball' Day/Night game and it will serve as preparation for the second Test in Adelaide which is scheduled to be a day-night Test, starting December 6.
The Indian captain is expected to play the game in Canberra as the pink Kookaburra ball in Adelaide offers a different kind of challenge for the batters especially in the famous twilight hour when the ball is known to jag around more than usual.
Notably, India had played a day-night Test at the same venue in their last tour down under and were bowled out for their lowest Test team total of 36 runs in the second innings. Because of this Men in Blue lost the match despite taking 30+ run lead from the first innings.
