Australian batsmen use an unusual drill in the nets to hone their extraordinary skills. The likes of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke get someone to throw the ball straight and slow and keep knocking sideways, trying to get the ball between cones that double up as illusionary fielders. Sweep, reverse-sweep, hook, hoick. and repeat the same for about two hours.Most cricketing nations have tried to pick up something or the other from the Australians in an attempt to emulate their exceptional success at the international level, and this Indian team seem to have picked up this particular drill. In the last two games, against Hong Kong and Pakistan, the batsmen have looked exceptionally comfortable as they have racked up an impressive 678 runs in their allotted 100 overs.They take on Bangladesh in their final group game on Saturday, and if the first two games are any indication, India might well be on their way to knocking up another tall score.Net gainAfter the handsome victory against Pakistan on Thursday, Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni mentioned how the batsmen have spent a lot of time getting into the groove and are now enjoying the results. From Virender Sehwag to Praveen Kumar, and even Ishant Sharma, all have been more than eager to pad up whenever possible and turn up to face either Gary Kirsten or Paddy Upton. And they’re taking it quite seriously. A couple of days back, at the end of one such practice session, the team waited in the bus for close to half an hour, allowing Piyush Chawla to finish a long session with the coach and his deputy. Chawla’s task was to flick the ball towards square-leg at a particular angle, and there was no leaving the net until he got it right.Unlike the Greg Chappell era — where he preached the theory of multi-utility cricketers — the mantra of this Indian team, under Gary Kirsten and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, seems to be different. Role-playingHere, it is about every player settling into particular roles designed for them and pulling that off to the best of their abilities. “There is a task assigned to every player in the team. Of course, in desperate situations, tasks can be altered according to situations, but overall, players know what they have to do. Most of the times, it is about getting the basics right,” says Dhoni.Adds Kirsten: “There are players like Yousuf Pathan and Suresh Raina who you will find often practicing reverse sweeps and switch shots out there. We are trying to innovate. There are some new things we are trying with all of them and that is possible only when you spend a good time doing it at the nets.”Middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma — who loves spending time in the nets - says, “It helps you keep in touch even if you haven’t spent time in the middle in a match-situation. More importantly, it helps you maintain some kind of momentum.”
