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.
The pitch, left unwatered for nearly a week, appeared dry and brown with faint traces of grass, conditions that could bring reverse swing and variable bounce into play later in the match.
The batters' constant failure in making runs in the first innings is costing the team dear, admitted bowling coach Morne Morkel even as India are in danger of losing the first Test series at home since 2012-13.
'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.'
The others to arrive after a delayed flight were K L Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy along with some members of the support staff.
'Jassi is a guy that immediately put his hand up and he wanted that leadership role.'
Runs have dried up for Suryakumar, with his last T20I fifty coming back in October 2024. With the World Cup less than two months away, the pressure has begun to mount.
The Proteas arrive high on confidence, having fought out a hard-earned 1-1 draw in Pakistan last month under challenging conditions.
India's bowling coach Morne Morkel expects the batting unit to lift its performance under pressure in the Asia Cup final against Pakistan
India begin their Super 8 journey against South Africa at the Narendra Modi stadium in a thrilling clash where a single mistake could change the course of the semifinals.
Little-known ambidextrous Bengal spinner Kaushik Maity seamlessly doubled up for both roles during the optional practice session.
'We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides.'
This happened following India's practice session that saw both India's senior batters hit the nets at the Optus Stadium.
India's pace great Zaheer Khan is reportedly set to part ways with Lucknow Super Giants after just one season as their mentor.
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.
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.
Earlier, warm-up routines had players darting through shuttle runs and high knees before bats were unsheathed.
The second and final Test starts in Guwahati from Saturday with India trailing 0-1 after the defeat on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch in Kolkata.
Indian Test skipper Shubman Gill spoke on the team dinner hosted by head coach Gautam Gambhir on Thursday
South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris has been called into their Champions Trophy squad after paceman Morne Morkel was ruled out of the tournament through injury.
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.
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
South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel will retire from all formats of international cricket after the four-match home Test series against Australia
'Pretty amazing. The whole tournament, we remained unbeaten, it feels pretty amazing to be in this position.'
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.
Here's a glimpse of India's new faces and veterans sweating it out...
The Indian players went through a gruelling training session ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, starting next week.
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.
Albie Morkel has decided to retire from all forms of cricket, ending a two-decade career that earned him a reputation as a clean striker of the ball and a bowler full of guile.
'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.'
India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday returned to the country after mother Seema Gambhir had to be hospitalized due to health emergency.
Siraj took a six wicket haul in the first innings and got rid of Zak Crawley in the final hour on day five.
India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak on Friday acknowledged that Sanju Samson has been going through a lean phase without doubting the quality of the struggling batter, and reiterated the team management's support for him.
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said training with the two-coloured balls helps in eliminating white ball tendencies from the red ball game.
He has always opened the bowling for South Africa but speedster Morne Morkel isn't complaining at being used as a one-change bowler by his IPL team Delhi Daredevils.
Abhishek Sharma's brutal yet beautiful stroke-play was the highlight of India's optional net session on Tuesday
India were struggling at 128 for 5 in their second innings, still trailing Australia by 29 runs at stumps on day two of the day-night Test.
Ahead of the third T20I against England in Rajkot, Vice-Captain Axar Patel stepped into an unexpected role: Team vlogger.
Statistical highlights of the IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils in Kolkata on Thursday.
