The Indian cricket team players geared up for the second Test match against Australia in Adelaide with a juniors vs seniors football match. Ahead of the game starting December 6, the squad was split into two teams based on seniority as they competed in a football game in front of a small crowd. Pictures and videos from the practice session showed both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma taking part in the game as the crowd cheered every move. According to some posts on social media, Rishabh Pant was in the juniors team along with other young cricketers in the squad.
Meanwhile, as India gears up for the pink-ball Test against Australia at Adelaide, Indian batting stars Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli will have some records worth looking up to that can witness them climb up over legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Don Bradman.
The Adelaide test will kickstart from December 6 onwards, with India heading into the game with a mental and physical edge over the Aussies who were left devastated by Bumrah's bowling and captaincy during a 295-run loss at Perth's Optus Stadium in the first Test.
However, the visitors would be looking to overcome the ghosts of the 2020 Adelaide pink-ball Test, which saw them being bundled out for their lowest Test score of 36 runs, starting that series on a nightmarish note. Pat Cummins (4/21) and Josh Hazlewood (5/8) had run riot over the Indian line-up in the second innings, getting an easy target of 90 runs to chase.
Jaiswal, the young 22-year-old is on a record-breaking spree. After dominating in the home conditions for most of the year, the youngster conquered the Aussie conditions with a scintillating 161 at Perth during the first Test.
This year so far, Jaiswal has scored 1,280 runs at an average of 58.18 and a strike rate of 72.52, with three centuries and seven fifties. His best score is 214*. The youngster is 282 runs away from overtaking Sachin's record of most Test runs by an Indian during a calendar year.
In 2010, Sachin slammed 1,562 runs in 14 Tests and 23 innings at an average of 78.10, with seven centuries and five fifties. His best score was 214.
The highest amount of Test runs in a calendar year belongs to Pakistan batting legend Mohammed Yousuf, who scored 1,788 runs in 2006 in 11 matches and 19 innings at an average of 99.33. He scored a massive nine centuries and three fifties, with the best score of 202.
(With ANI inputs)