13 Indian players get first preference in Antigua practice session

If the practice session at Antigua was any indication, Team India has made some combinations to find the perfect playing eleven for the first match of the series. 13 of the 17 players were given the first preference in the practice session.

Rohit Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were the four players, who had a secondary chance at the practice session. The session started with three nets in which two batsmen paired up in each net. Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay paired up in the first net, Cheteshwar Pujara and KL Rahul took the next net and the duo of Indian skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane took the third net.

Ishant Sharma, Stuart Binny, Mohammad Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, and later Ravindra Jadeja were bowling in the first hour. Binny was in nice rhythm troubling Dhawan with the outside off-stump line. Shami and Ishant were bowling a lot fuller than what they had done in the practice matches.

Despite scoring a half-century in the warm-up match, Rohit came into bat only later in the day. Anil Kumble spent a lot of time with the leg-spinner Amit Mishra in an empty net. Pujara and Vijay also bowled later in the session where there was a lot of sledging and mocking going on.

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Off-spinner Ashwin said that he would allow Dhawan to sweep for some time and then will get him bowled around his legs. Vijay challenged Jadeja to blast out every delivery he bowled and broke into dance and smiled whenever Jadeja missed.

The 4-match Test series will commence from 21^st July at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua.

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