Batting time: Preparations in lockdown mode for India

All-out attack failed against New Zealand, and Aussie opener Usman Khawaja seems to have a point

- Ashish Magotra

If the India A versus Australia A matches were any indication, the senior India Test team would have rather enjoyed a tour game or two before the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy begins in Perth on November 22.

But with the India camp having a rather firm belief about the uselessness of warm-up games, the players were instead put through the wringer at the WACA ground in Perth. But there is a catch -- the net session was held behind a black curtain and photos/videos were prohibited, so no one, other than the plyers, quite knows what exactly took place on the first day of training in Australia.

The bowlers have their own catching up to do Down Under but India's major worry at this point is going to be the batting.

The successes in the previous two tours 2018-19 and in 2020-21 were built not just on aggressive batting but also by occupying the crease and setting up the innings for the batters to follow.

In 2018, for instance, the Indian team faced 4390 balls on the way to their historic first triumph Down Under. Australia's batters played 4188 balls in a series that went down to the wire. The big differentiator for India was Cheteshwar Pujara, who batted at incredible 1258 balls to score 521 runs at an average of 74.42.