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Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Australia rope-in Ashwin's duplicate from Baroda to prepare against the off-spinner

Australians are sweating it out in the nets to counter the spin challenge posed by India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.

By Mykhel Staff
steve smith

Bengaluru, Feb 3: Australian cricket team is sweating it out heavily in Bengaluru to prepare for the upcoming Test series against India and their prime focus is on ways to counter Ravichandran Ashwin.

R Ashwin has always posed the biggest of challenges to the visiting teams and the Aussies are well and truly aware of the threats the off-spinner will pose on the spin-friendly Indian tracks.

With 21 scalps under his belt, Ashwin was the second-highest wicket-taker in the 2017 Border Gavaskar Trophy played in India after compatriot Ravindra Jadeja. India won the series 2-1 at home and even won two consecutive Test series in Australia.

Australia prepare for India spin challenge

To prepare against the Tamil Nadu tweaker, the Australian team management has roped in 21-year-old spinner Maheesh Pithiya for his uncanny resemblance to Ashwin.

Australia - who are currently ranked number one in Tests - are aiming to repeat their exploits from 2004 - when they last won a Test series on Indian soil.

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The first match will begin in Nagpur on February 9. Expecting spin to play a major role in the four-Test series, the visitors have opted for tailor-made pitches and have availed the services of Pithiya to get accustomed to the action of Ashwin.

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"Of all the stops Australia have pulled out to prepare for their trip to India, the most noticeable at their Test tour's first training session was the presence of a Ravichandran Ashwin duplicate," a report in cricket.com.au said.

steve smith practices

"With facing spin the major focus on Thursday, Pithiya was the standout among the local 'netties', bowling tirelessly and virtually without break through the day as he troubled the likes of Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head, who all had long batting sessions."

Who is Maheesh Pithiya?

Pithiya, interestingly, didn't see Ashwin bowl until the age of 11. Growing up in Junagadh, Gujarat he didn't have access to TV and when he finally watched the India ace in action against the West Indies in 2013, he started idolising him.

The youngster, who made his first-class debut in December for Baroda, was flown in for the four-day training camp at the KSCA Ground in nearby Alur by Australia after seeing his footage on social media.

It was Pritesh Joshi -- one of the bowlers giving throw downs to the Australian batters with the 'side-arm' aid -- who first brought Pithiya to the attention of assistant coach Andre Borovec.

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He also arranged for Mehrotra Shashank, a left-arm spinner who played first-class cricket for Hyderabad, to attend the camp. "While no spinner in the world can perfectly mimic the challenge Ashwin will pose in this series, facing Pithiya over the coming days will at least help the Australians come to terms with the visual cues of the world's top-ranked Test spin bowler," the report said.

How else are Aussies preparing for India Tests?

The Aussie batters were also tested out by a self-described throwdown specialist Khaleel Shariff, who has worked with numerous Indian Premier League (IPL) teams and was known to coach Andrew McDonald and Vettori from their time at Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The other Tests will be played in New Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13).

(With PTI inputs)

Story first published: Friday, February 3, 2023, 14:47 [IST]
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