India vs New Zealand: Rahul Dravid gives throwdowns to Virat Kohli ahead of 2nd Test

Virat Kohli is back in the Indian team and the talismanic cricketer would be raring to make his bat talk. The regular Indian skipper was rested for the first Test against New Zealand, which eventually resulted in a draw. The second and final clash takes will get underway on Friday (December 3) at the iconic Wankhede  Stadium in Mumbai.

It has to be noted that India have won all their Test series at home since their humiliating 2-1 thrashing against England in 2012. Hence, Kohli has the onus to extend India’s winning streak in home Tests. Meanwhile, the official Instagram page of the Indian cricket team shared a video on Thursday (December 2) that showcased Kohli sweating it out in the nets.

The 33-year-old might have not played the first Test and the preceding three-match T20I series against the Kiwis. However, he showcased no signs of rustiness in the one-minute long clip. “60 Seconds of Pure Joy! V.I.R.A.T K.O.H.L.I takes centre stage,” was the caption on the video. Meanwhile, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid was also spotted giving throwdowns to the team skipper in the clip.

Rahul Dravid-Virat Kohli era set to get underway in Indian cricket

It must be noted that the upcoming game marks the start of the Dravid-Kohli era in Indian cricket. The veteran cricketer was known to share a great camaraderie with Dravid’s predecessor Ravi Shastri. Hence, it would be interesting to see what Kohli’s partnership with the new head coach results.

Meanwhile, Kohli’s last international century was recorded more than two years ago. Hence, he won’t mind ending the drought in Mumbai. Notably, the talismanic batter had been training with India’s former batting coach Sanjay Bangar during the break. As per Kohli, the practice outside the bio-bubble helped him a lot.

“From my personal experience, I can tell you that practising in an environment where you were not in a structured environment and there weren’t 50 cameras trained at you… we could do that previously, we would have windows where you could step aside and individually work on your game or take some time off where you are not doing the same thing every day. That makes a lot of difference,” Kohli told media on the eve of the game.