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Xtra Time Web Desk: The Indian cricket team underwent a rigorous training session ahead of the Boxing Day test against South Africa at Super Sport Park on Sunday. The entire squad was present for the practice session with the star batter Virat Kohli hogging the limelight. Kohli, who missed the three-day intra-squad game to visit his wife Anushka Sharma in London, arrived at the OR Tambo International airport around 8am in the morning. After dropping his family in the Team hotel in Johannesburg, he headed straight to the Super Sport Park to join the practice session. The star batter was half an hour late for the practice session. Virat was seen shaking hands with Indian captain Rohit Sharma before heading to the nets.

The visitors, eyeing their first Test series win in 31 years, acknowledges the challenge posed by South African conditions, where handling the pace and bounce, especially from bowlers like Kagiso Rabada, Gerald Coetzee, Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi, will be pivotal.

To acclimatize to unfamiliar conditions, the support staff introduced a unique plan in Sunday's practice in Centurion. The bowling crease was shortened to 18 yards instead of the usual 22 yards, providing extra pace to simulate South African conditions. This adjustment aimed to assist Indian batters, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, in refining their techniques against the anticipated bounce ahead of the crucial first Test.

The Indians practiced at one of the wickets next to the main pitch where the test match will be played in order to acclimatize with the bounce. Rohit and Yashasvi Jaiswal were the first to enter the nets as they faced the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Both Rohit and Yashashvi looked confident middling the ball. Shubman Gill was the next batter to enter the nets followed by KL Rahul who was seen practicing wicketkeeping. Probably he will keep wickets for the first test match of the series.

Virat batted for about an hour and looked in great touch. He played some glorious cover drives, cut shots, and pull shots as well. He along with Bumrah, Rahul will look to set the records straight. The last time they played a test match in Super Sport Park, they ended up winning. But eventually went on to lose the three test match series. So, they will be looking to stay focussed and make a good start in the test series.  

Talking about Shreyas Iyer's susceptibility to short deliveries, it has been a well-documented concern, making the upcoming Test series against South Africa a crucial test for him. The Indian team management set up a special practice session for all the batters including Shreyas. Throwdown specialists aimed short-pitched deliveries from 18 yards at all batters to hone their skills in negotiating bounce, emphasizing the importance of this drill in Sunday's practice.

There is predictions of showers and thunderstorms on the first day of the test match. Rain did play a spoilsport during South Africa's training session on Sunday. The visitors will be back for training tomorrow, i.e, on Monday, December 25.