Rain threat to third one-dayer

The heavy shower, which lasted till late Friday night, has put a doubt on Sunday’s final one-dayer of this truncated three-match series.

Fresh from their victory in Visakhapatnam, India, who arrived here on Thursday afternoon, chose for an afternoon practice session minus the quartet of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Ashish Nehra and R Ashwin. Shikhar Dhawan, who made his debut on Wednesday and lasted just two balls, was the first to bat along with fellow opener Murali Vijay.

Virat Kohli followed them giving an indication of patterns to come in the second match.
Kohli, who was troubled by a pulled muscle during his match-winning knock of 118 in Visakhapatnam, looked comfortable throughout his stint though he didn’t bat too long.

The right-hander spent most of his time talking to mental and physical conditioning coach Paddy Upton. Suresh Raina, however, restricted himself to stretching while Munaf Patel went full throttle while bowling. The right-arm quick worked up good pace and repeatedly beat Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.

Australia, meanwhile, had a full practice session in the morning. The visitors, who have been reduced to a 12-man team with the exit of Doug Bollinger and Michael Hussey, are walking the tight rope. There’s an injury worry to Michael Clarke as well. He skipped batting on Wednesday, and they can ill-afford another injury.