India vs Bangladesh: Rampant Virat Kohli, relentless Indian bowlers, ‘sporting’ pitch: Template set for Indore Test

Ahead of the first Test match against Bangladesh, the Indian cricketers led by Virat Kohli hit the nets to set the ball rolling.

Virat Kohli rocked up to the nets, away from the rest of the group and took throwdowns. The balls were pitched up and the skipper was in an aggressive mindset and did not hold back. The roaring drives made an appearance, the flicks were crisp and the right-hander looked in the zone.

Indian cricket team Captain Virat Kohli with teammates Rishabh Pant and R Jadeja during a practice session ahead of their first Test scheduled to start on November 14 against Bangladesh, in Indore, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019. (PTI)

He then hopped over to the other net and faced the pink ball. This was the first time he took guard against the pink nut and yes, there was a difference. He was much more watchful, he was beaten on a couple of occasions and then the strokes came flooding back. He was also chastising himself when he missed few of his strokes and wanted to buckle down.

Elsewhere, Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav were in the mood - Umesh, in particular, was the best of the lot, he was beating almost every batsman who faced him. He also knocked over Ajinkya Rahane.

Mayank Agarwal was the one who batted for the longest, against the red ball and against the pink ball. While he was crisp against the red ball, he was a bit scratchy against the pink ball and once when he nicked a ball outside the off stump, he turned back and smashed his stumps.

Cheteshwar Pujara was not in his elements, he was very circumspect against Ashwin, never looked settled against the pink ball. Ajinkya Rahane, who found form against South Africa, looked the best against the throwdowns with the pink ball.

Pitch

Head curator of MPCA, Samandar Singh Chouhan believes the 22-yard will be a sporting wicket. The pitch had to be kept under the covers for last three days owing to indifferent weather and could not be watered too much. However, the sun was out in its full glory on Tuesday and there was a fair tinge of green on the surface. It looked a good wicket which could have good pace and bounce - two traits which generally favour all parties concerned.

“Good wicket, sporting wicket, assistance for everyone, as per the format the pitch will be good for all 5 days,” Chouhan told Hindustan Times.

WATCH: Kohli & co train with pink balls to prepare for Day/Night Test

Indore had witness cloud cover over the last few days and this has a bearing on the preparation of the surface. As per Chouhan, they were forced to keep the surface covered and watered the surface a lot less.

“Weather was a problem in the past few days, but we were prepared as such. The forecast is clear,” Chouhan added.

The head curator clarified that have not received any specific guidelines from the Indian team for the preparation of any kind of surface.

“Do not receive any specific guidelines from the Indian side, have been working for 35-40 years now, we know what will are the strengths of the side and hence, accordingly prepare the surface,” he said.

The weather for the rest of the week is clear and if the sun continues to blaze the way it did on Tuesday, the pitch could start showing signs of unevenness and hence, there was grass cover which would help bind the surface together.

The coaches from both the sides bounced balls on the square and there was good assistance which could well mean that the pitch too will be a proper Test wicket.

Both sides went full throttle with their preparations and on current form, India look to have all the bases covered and well, the number 1 side in the world, look overwhelming favourites to get the job done.