English daily newspaper published in Bengaluru and Doha

PTI Mumbai: Unexpectedly trailing 0-2 in a home series, the Indian team has taken some desperate measures to improve its batsmen’s output against spot-on New Zealand bowlers, especially the spinners, as talk of a rank-turner for the third Test here has dominated conversations before the fight. The net session at the Wankhede Stadium reflected the urgency the team management is in ahead of the final Test that begins on Friday, as even veteran players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have found it tough in this rubber.

Before the nets, they asked the staff to draw extended white lines along the off and leg stumps at four practice nets, a practice generally intended to keep batsmen aware of line and lengths. In the first Test in Bengaluru, the notorious Indian batting line-up succumbed to the probing line and bounced, and in the second match in Pune, they were outwitted by left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner, who took 13 wickets over two innings. More than the conventional spin, the Indian batsmen had no solution to Santner’s deliveries that hit the same spot on the MCA Stadium pitch but offered different results – some turned away while some straightened. So it was clear that head coach Gautam Gambhir wanted his batsmen to go into the final Test with better preparation. India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar gave a glimpse into the struggles of his wards and said it is important to keep an eye on spinners’ hands.

“You have to understand when certain balls spin, certain balls go straight, it tends to play with your mind. At that point, it’s really important for a batter to understand how the ball is coming out of the hand, what balls are undercutting , which balls overspin,” offered Nayar in the press conference.Along with the technical nous, Nayar said, a batter should also be able to handle such a situation mentally.