India vs Australia: Virat Kohli finds the perfect way to beat the rain in Sydney
A few members of the Indian support staff had visited the ground to assess conditions earlier in the morning. The team didn’t even arrive at the ground owing to poor weather conditions.
With the first day of the tour game between Cricket Australia XI and India abandoned due to rain at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday, India skipper Virat Kohli decided to hit the gym rather than wasting time in the dressing room. Giving him company were none other than opener Murali Vijay and pace spearhead Ishant Sharma. Keeping a close eye on their gym session was trainer Shanker Basu.
Taking to Instagram, Kohli posted a photo which read: “The rain doesn’t seem to be going away so we decided to make something of our day ✌️💪. Gotta love a good workout with the boys. #makeeverydaycount”
Incessant rain kept the players away as inclement weather didn’t relent at all. It started raining in Sydney on Tuesday night and after a deluge through the day, the ground was soaking wet.
There was a brief stoppage in rain at 1 pm local time and the grounds men worked hard to get the pitch and outfield ready. Toss was scheduled for 3.30pm local time with play to commence at 4 pm, if no further rain showers came forth.
But play was abandoned for the day at 3 pm local time, with half an hour extension from day two onwards.
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A few members of the Indian support staff had visited the ground to assess conditions earlier in the morning. The team didn’t even arrive at the ground owing to poor weather conditions.
There is more rain forecast for Thursday morning but the weather is expected to clear from day two afternoon. As is the want of the Indian side, the match has not been accorded first-class status, allowing all players of the touring party to participate in the game. The Cricket Australia XI is also a team sheet of names inconsequential to the upcoming Test series, barring perhaps D’Arcy Short who was part of the recently concluded T20I series.
For India, this is a chance to get their game face on and also make the transition from white-ball to red-ball cricket for the final time this season. After this series, there is a long limited-overs’ schedule until the 2019 ODI World Cup. But before focus turns to that quadrennial tournament, there is the small matter of preparing well for a last overseas Test series to be played this year.
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