India vs Australia: Ashwin duplicate to special pitches, how Aussies are preparing for Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Australia are leaving no stone unturned apropos their preparations for the upcoming four-match Test series against India, scheduled to begin from 9 February in Nagpur.

Given the facts that the conditions in India will be tougher than ever with WTC Finals in sight and that they haven’t won their last three Test series against the Rohit Sharma-led side, the Aussies are gearing up to overcome all possible challenges which they can face in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

Here’s how Australia are preparing for the crucial Test series:

Ditched tour games to train on specially-prepared pitches

Australia’s main focus has been on countering the threat from hosts spinners in the build-up to their high-profile four-match Test series starting on Thursday and for the same reason, they abandoned the idea of “irrelevant” tour games in India and instead trained with SG balls on specially-prepared spinning pitches in Sydney before coming to India.

The 18-member squad, led by Pat Cummins, had a pre-series camp on spin-friendly tracks in Sydney, where the ground staff prepared special dusty pitches with significant cracks to simulate Indian pitches, where spin is set to dictate terms especially when SG balls will be used for the Tests.

Pic of pitch in Sydney which was used for practice by Australia before they departed for India Tests. Image: Twitter

Earlier, Australia’s star batter Steve Smith had said that nets sessions would benefit his side more than the tour games.

“We normally have two tour games over in England. This time we don’t have a tour game in India,” Smith was quoted as saying by news.com.au on Monday ahead of the team’s departure to India.

“The last time we went (to India) I’m pretty sure we got served up a green top (to practice on) and it was sort of irrelevant. Hopefully, we get really good training facilities where the ball is likely to do what it’s likely to do out in the middle, and we can get our practice in,” said Smith.

“We’re better off having our own nets and getting spinners in and bowling as much as they can.”

Smith, whose side had lost the series 1-2 when it toured India in 2017, indicated a lot of thinking had into the decision.

“We’ll wait and see when we hit the ground. I think we’ve made the right decision to not play a tour match. Like I said, last time they dished up a green top for us (in a tour game) and we barely faced any spin, so it’s kind of irrelevant.”

Specialised four-day training camp in Bengaluru

With no warm-up matches scheduled ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia are undergoing a specialised four-day training camp in Alur, Bengaluru and to get them acclimatised to the Indian conditions, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) has arranged special turning pitches for the Cummins’ side to practice.

Also, Australia’s batters have relied on Ashton Agar and spin coach Daniel Vettori, both accomplished left-arm orthodox bowlers, to replicate the bowling action of Indian tweakers Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel.

Australia gets ‘Ashwin duplicate’ Mahesh Pithiya

Australia have roped in Mahesh Pithiya, a 21-year-old spinner with an uncanny resemblance to Ravichandran Ashwin, to train on spin-friendly tracks as part of their preparation.

Off-spinner Ashwin may prove to be a major threat for Australia, who haven’t won a Test series in India since 2004. For the same reason, the visitors have availed the services of Pithiya to get accustomed to the action of Ashwin.

“Of all the stops Australia have pulled out to prepare for their trip to India, the most noticeable at their Test tour’s first training session was the presence of a Ravichandran Ashwin duplicate,” a report in cricket.com.au said.

“With facing spin the major focus on Thursday, Pithiya was the standout among the local ‘netties’, bowling tirelessly and virtually without break through the day as he troubled the likes of Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Travis Head, who all had long batting sessions.”

Pithiya, interestingly, didn’t see Ashwin bowl until the age of 11. Growing up in Junagadh, Gujarat he didn’t have access to TV and when he finally watched the India ace in action against the West Indies in 2013, he started idolising him.

The youngster, who made his first-class debut in December for Baroda, was flown in for the four-day training camp at the KSCA Ground in nearby Alur by Australia after seeing his footages in social media.

It was Pritesh Joshi — one of the bowlers giving throw downs to the Australian batters with the ‘side-arm’ aid — who first brought Pithiya to the attention of assistant coach Andre Borovec.

It is worth noting that since their defeat against England in 2012, India are on an enviable record streak of winning 15 consecutive Test series at home. No other team has won more than 10 home series in a row. Hence, Australia will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

Moreover, the series is crucial in regards to WTC as with a healthy lead at the top of the standings, the No. 1 ranked Australian team has one foot in the World Test Championship final, while number two India will need to produce at least a 3-0 or 3-1 win to make their successive WTC Final.

(With agencies’ inputs)

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