India keep it simple, focus on big hitting during first practice

DHARAMSHALA: The first glimpse of India's high-altitude training was on display at the HPCA stadium as the players locked their focus on some intense and sharp training amid the glare of fans and media on Tuesday. MS Dhoni and his troop completed the first practice session without much fuss, wherein the batsmen targeted long shots and the bowlers, especially spinners were made to go the extra yard.
Under the watchful supervision of team director Ravi Shastri, players who haven't had much match practice were involved in some additional fielding and warm-up drills. Medium-pacers Mohit Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were up first, followed by the experienced Harbhajan Singh and fellow spinner Amit Mishra. The legspinner, not the quickest runner, was made to take a couple of rounds of the ground first before getting underway with his regular chores.
Unlike their practice sessions during the World Cup, where fans were mostly asked to follow it from a distance, quite a handful of them thronged the stands in order to watch the players take stride. In a two-hour long session, almost every player in the squad got into the action, barring Shikhar Dhawan who is scheduled to fly in on Wednesday. A wave of hand from Bharat Arun from almost a distance of 70 meters had Stuart Binny answer to his bowling coach, and the Karnataka seamer began with his gentle military-medium pace to left-handers Suresh Raina and Axar Patel.
A small tussle between a certain local journalist and an HPCA Official, who had issues with the media contingent entering the restricted zone, caught the attention of Rohit Sharma and Harbhajan, and as the crowd waved out to their beloved cricketers and shouted out their names, the players responded with a smile back, generating a flurry of whistles across the stadium.
Surprisingly, there was no particular catching session for the players, barring the usual pick up and throw. Instead, fielders lined up near the boundary ropes and fancied their chances with each lofted shot that came out of the batsmen's willow. Dhoni did not spend much time to slip into training gear and walked to the nets, mainly focussed on big hitting. If he and his team-mates were thinking of Friday's game against South Africa as a grudge contest, they did not show it.
A word of advice for first timers, watching Dhoni drilling the spinners on television isn't half as brutal as seeing him live. One of the major reasons that he has been so effective against the spinners is the effortless use of his feet. Tuesday was all about that. The Indian skipper dancing down to Harbhajan and Mishra was reminiscence to what he did to Pakistan offspinner Arshad Khan at Vizag and Sri Lanka legspinner Upul Chandana at Jaipur in 2005. The brute power of his wrist is unparallel.
One particular hit down the ground seemed to be aiming right towards the glass panel of the press box and almost had a few media personnel in there ducking for cover. Such was the force behind that hit. Kohli was comparatively generous in his shot-making, often trying out his copybook aerial inside out shots, while Rohit, as always, focused on mixing timing with force. Raina middled some nice drives down the ground whereas Rahane's big hits seemed to carry a message directed at the Indian captain.
Bhuvneshwar looked energised in his run-up, delivering and the follow up. He seemed to have added an extra mile keeping in mind the strong winds that'll take control once Friday evening settles in. Interestingly, Sreenath Aravind was given an extended bowl in the nets. Perhaps an indication that the Karnataka seamer may partner Bhuvneshwar/Mohit with the new ball, since the possibility of Harbhajan, Mishra and Ashwin playing is high considering the amount of dew.
A few throw-downs helped every batsman warm up while bowling coach Arun had to spend time in the middle, standing in the umpire's position, to keep an eye on those who form the Indian attack. As the bowlers walked back to the top of their run-up, he would have an unanimated word by way of feedback. Also giving them a word of advise was pitch curator Sunil Chauhan, who can be guaranteed to know a thing or two about the surface.
That Dhawan was not part of the session didn't go down well with the fans. "He's flying in tomorrow. But don't worry, he got a 150 against Bangladesh, so his practice won't be an issue," a media guy shouted out. "Thank god," the fan exclaimed, I was really keen on watching Gabbar bat."
Even though South Africa fly in Wednesday, some additional practice in the hilly surroundings wouldn't have hurt them much. With the Indian side likely to undergo few more sessions before match day, the schedule of the two teams may clash. South Africa would definitely have not liked to enter a big tournament on a losing tone - they went down to India A by eight wickets. In the absence of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir will be shouldering the bulk of responsibility. And in such case, the more South Africa practice here in testing conditions, the better it'll be for them.