Countering Bumrah before spinners come into play will be key for SA: Graeme Smith
India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted his side was "surprised" by how quickly the Eden Gardens surface "deteriorated" after a dramatic second day in which 15 wickets fell and the opening Test swung sharply in India's favour.
Shubman Gill's form in the series is a concern for India as he has now gone six games without a half-century.
Earlier, warm-up routines had players darting through shuttle runs and high knees before bats were unsheathed.
Their move to bench Morne Morkel raised quite a few eyebrows but Delhi Daredevils skipper Virender Sehwag said that it was the injury to Irfan Pathan that forced them to change the team combination ahead of IPL's qualifier II against Chennai Super Kings.
With the much-anticipated Group A clash against arch-rivals Pakistan looming, India is sparing no effort in their training sessions, honing skills and strategising tactics.
India's pace great Zaheer Khan is reportedly set to part ways with Lucknow Super Giants after just one season as their mentor.
'Pretty amazing. The whole tournament, we remained unbeaten, it feels pretty amazing to be in this position.'
India's bowling coach Morne Morkel expects the batting unit to lift its performance under pressure in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan
Calling Kuldeep a world-class spinner, Morkel said India are trying to fit the wily operator into the side. He can now only play the last Test at The Oval from July 31.
Abhishek Sharma's brutal yet beautiful stroke-play was the highlight of India's optional net session on Tuesday
Defending champions India had a full-fledged practice session at the ICC Academy in Dubai on Friday as they put the finishing touches to their Asia Cup preparations.
'Tomorrow we can just focus on doing a good warm-up, get the boys ready to hopefully get the ball in the right area and create a little bit of excitement again.'
South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel has revealed that a lot of green smoothies have helped him improve his fitness.
The 'Impact Player' in IPL might have restricted Chennai Super Kings' Shivam Dube's role but 'India's Shivam Dube' aspires to be a full-fledged all-rounder backed by head coach Gautam Gambhir and helped by bowling coach Morne Morkel.
'He has been working hard on his bowling. This was a perfect game for him.'
Shivam Dube remains a vital cog in India's T20 set-up and bowling coach Morne Morkel wants the Mumbai all-rounder to step up as a back-up medium pacer ahead of the T20 World Cup, in line with head coach Gautam Gambhir's philosophy of packing the XI with multi-skilled cricketers.
Seldom has an India vs Pakistan clash played with such a volatile backdrop, where cricket seems inseparably knotted with off-field tension, provocative gestures, and fines slapped on both camps.
Team India wasted no time in getting their preparations underway as they kicked off their first training session at Lord's a few hours after their arrival in London on Saturday.
Harshit Rana has been included in the India Test squad as a cover and travelled with the rest of the team via train to reach Leeds
This brings us to the question of combination and perhaps Arshdeep could miss out on more games going into the T20 World Cup -- a tournament that will be held in the sub-continent -- India and Sri Lanka.
The Oval will host the fifth and final Test between India and England from Thursday, and the Indian team has hit the ground running two days after staging a remarkable comeback to draw the fourth match in Manchester.
It is not clear whether Morne Morkel will rejoin the squad later during the Champions Trophy.
India's bowling coach Morne Morkel outlined 'consistency' as a crucial aspect for the visitors to thrive in the upcoming five-Test series against England.
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said training with the two-coloured balls helps in eliminating white ball tendencies from the red ball game.
Since he took over, head coach Gautam Gambhir has stressed on multi-skilled players across formats, especially those who can add batting depth.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday returned to the country after mother Seema Gambhir had to be hospitalized due to health emergency.
'Yeah, 100 per cent. That's a good question, and I think that's something we'll obviously reflect on after the tour, the things we could have done better.'
Prasidh Krishna has the ability to bowl "magic balls" and the pacer needs to be given an extended run to serve India for a long time, said bowling coach Morne Morkel in London on Sunday.
Soon after gently rolling his arm over in the field of play, Akash Deep cut a forlorn figure as uncapped Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna bowled full tilt at India's first outdoor training session ahead of the fourth Test.
Mohammed Siraj's match-winning spell in The Oval Test reminded us all what Test cricket -- and fast bowling -- is truly about: Discipline, endurance, and unwavering grit, says Aadharsh A V.
Siraj took a six wicket haul in the first innings and got rid of Zak Crawley in the final hour on day five.
On linking up with the squad, the former South Africa pacer was seen having a long chat with head coach Gautam Gambhir as the players did their warm-up drills at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made a promise to himself post the Australia tour that he would improve his bowling.
India bowling coach Morne Morkel says managing the workload of fast bowlers in a five-Test series can be an issue right after an IPL season.
The usually mobbed Indian cricket team likes training in a relaxed atmosphere and that was evident in their body language as the players went about their business in their only practice session at the Kent County Cricket Ground before the fourth Test in Manchester.
Kagiso Rabada stamped his class on the biggest stage-rocking Australia and leapfrogging legends in the record books.
Cheteshwar Pujara was the cornerstone of the Indian batting line-up in Tests, featuring in 103 matches in which he scored 7,195 runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 centuries.
There is Ravindra Jadeja, whose superior batting becomes a huge factor in SENA countries but against England's 'Bazballers', Kuldeep Yadav's versatility could complement pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah better if India harbour any hopes of picking 20 wickets.
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