Sweep first, spin later

As Shubman Gill batted on the practice pitch next to the main strip on Wednesday both Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan stood behind and watched This was before the duo who are in line to make their debut in Visakhapatnam honed their batting at that net Perhaps in the lone pursuit of employing the unconventional and equally unexpected sweeps and reversesweeps more frequently in a bid to throw English spinners off the immaculate line and length in the second Test beginning on FridayAlso ReadlsquoBazballrsquo all the wayOne of the major highlights of the opening Test was the contradictory methods employed by batters of the two sides while playing spin despite having cut their teeth on similar surfaces against the same spinners in the past The likes of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope went big on sweeps in Hyderabad against Indiarsquos spin maestros who bore the brunt of Englandrsquos fury in the third innings of the Test which the hosts lost by 28 runs only their fourth defeat at home since 2013 The only Indian batsman who looked comfortable while sweeping is captain Rohit Sharma as all others never took it to be a productive scoring optionIt is not something you can try You need to practice it If you have more shots it is beneficial We play in a traditional way Our strength is going straight and using our feet We need to do that well and if we can play some shots that is always a good addition coach Vikram Rathour told reporters after the sessionPrep mode TeamIndia get into the groove for the 2nd INDvENG Test in Vizag IDFCFIRSTBank pictwittercomBiN0XjLzMumdash BCCI BCCI January 31 2024England meanwhile will be relieved to not have to deal with Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul in the second Test but they still have puzzles in their own game to solve They were soundly beaten in Hyderabad and eased back to winning ways only because of the belligerent Pope and the stouthearted Tom HartleyAlso Read Donrsquot write off Djokovic just yetTheir middle order apart from Stokes hasnt pulled its weight with the willow They will hope Joe Root can build on the momentum he showed with the ball in the series opener It is not just their batting though that has been a cause of worry The bowlers besides Root and Hartley have been a let down as well Englandrsquos fast bowlers have opted for pace and erred in line and length leaking crucial runs with the young Yashasvi Jaiswal on the creaseSurprisingly enough for a team that prides itself on preparation England havent bowled many cutters or slower balls to make their Indian counterparts fight that little extra bit to find their timing Perhaps this explains why the English dressing room canrsquot thank RootHartley enough for their wondrous exploitsFor India batters have had their troubles too but have been shored up by their premier bowlers who have succeeded in choking runs in the middle overs to an extent From what it appears Rohit and Co will not be over strategising about the English team as wicketkeeper KS Bharat insinuated in the press conferenceldquoEverything is chill and everything is relaxed at the moment and looking to do well as a team Thats the message from the captain and coach We are confident Our bench strength is always ready for a challenge on these kinds of tracks And the guys walking in I am sure they will definitely do well and take it forwardrdquo said BharatThe best part about this Indian team is that they havent yet played their best cricket and yet have been able to tilt the game in their favour with consummate ease although unsuccessfully The middleorder batting still remains a concern and Gillrsquos performance at number three certainly makes him a weak link But above all it is the pitch that remains under scanner with the hosts expected to dish out a turning track in their bid to effectively level the seriesWith quotes from PTI