World Cup | India vs Australia: Surya practises straight 'range-hitting', Ishan struggles against Bumrah-Siraj

Chennai, Oct 6 (PTI) Suryakumar Yadav had two separate net sessions on Friday when the full team save skipper Rohit Sharma had an intensive two and half hour hit at the Chepauk ahead of the World Cup opener against Australia on Sunday.

While Rohit keenly watched the net session and spent at least 10 minutes talking to Shreyas Iyer on how to play the short ball and perfect execution of pull and hook.

Rohit, perhaps, the finest practitioner of horizontal bat shots among the contemporary Indian batters, took a bat and did a bit of shadow on how to play the deliveries below and above the eye-line as Iyer listened in rapt attention.

However, the most interesting aspect was Surya's training session. At the main nets, he used all his T20 shots, including the ones that's played behind the square using supple wrists. As left-arm throwdown expert Nuwan Seneviratne sent those rockets, Surya brought his 'Supla' shots out of the bag.

"We know that his preferred route of scoring runs in the T20 format has been square of the wicket. He’s played a lot of cricket, scores a lot of runs square of the wicket, which makes him incredibly effective and absolutely a gun in T20 cricket.

"But in one-day cricket you’ve sometimes got to find other ways to play as well," Dravid said on the day while trying to dissect Surya's batting.

Surya's problems in ODI cricket has been deliveries that are straight and pitched on length.

Once the main nets outside the stadium was finished, one saw him head towards another net adjacent to the centre strip to practice some range hitting straight down the ground.

It was as if he was trying to execute the assignment given by Dravid, to increase his range by "range-hitting".

Range hitting is primarily a golf term but coaches nowadays ask players to execute the straight big hits.

"We have also been chatting to him a little bit about finding different ways to score runs. He has to find other areas of the field to access, and credit to him, he’s working really hard, he is really developing other facets to his game as well," said Dravid before the practice session.

However, Ishan Kishan's struggles were there for everyone to see as he could hardly time any delivery from Jasprit Bumrah, who was breathing fire in the nets with some unplayable deliveries.

Save Virat Kohli, none of the others looked very comfortable against India's pace spearhead but Kishan, who is set to open in place of Shubman Gill against Australia on Sunday, looked the least comfortable.

Bumrah time and again beat him for pace and Moahmmed Siraj also hurried him into his strokes. Kishan also didn't look in great rhythm while facing throwdowns and even Mohammed Shami bowling with a short four-step run-up pitched it full and squared him up.

A few balls flew towards gully and point and it didn't make for a pretty picture.

However, if Kishan gets cracking on Sunday, the practice session struggles won't matter. PTI KHS KHS UNG