Indian team goes trekking after loss to Australia

Picture credits: Virat Kohli’s Facebook account

What’s the story?

After suffering an embarrassing defeat against Australia in the first Test of the four-match Test series at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune, the Indian team decided to take some time off their busy schedule to go trekking to Tamhini Ghat, which is located in Maharashtra.

Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ajinkya Rahane took to social media platform Instagram to post a picture from the team’s trek to the Ghat. 

In case you didn’t know...

The Australian cricket team humiliated India by 333 runs in the first Test after an inspired spell of bowling by Steve O’Keefe who took identical figures of 6-35 in both the innings to dismantle the Indian batting line-up.

Chasing 441 in the 2^nd innings of the match, Nathan Lyon and O’Keefe spun a web around the Indian team and bowled them out for 107. The first innings was not any better for Virat Kohli’s side as they were bowled out for 105, in response to Australia’s 260 in their first innings. 

The only positive for India in the match was their bowling performance with Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Umesh Yadav all amongst the wickets.

The heart of the matter 

Tamhini Ghat is located in the Western Ghat and is noted for its surroundings comprising scenic waterfalls, lakes and dense woods. An extremely popular tourist attraction for people visiting Pune, the Indian team looked to forget about the loss and have a bonding session in order to gear up for the all-important 2^nd Test against the Kangaroos.

Captain Virat Kohli posted a picture on his social media handle, titled – “Everyday is a blessing and an opportunity. Be grateful and keep moving ahead.”

What’s next? 

The second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series will take place at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on March 4^th. The final two Tests of the series will take place at Ranchi and Dharamsala respectively.

Sportskeeda’s take

After such a humiliating defeat, the Indian cricket team were brought back down to earth after their 19 match unbeaten streak. Such an outing was required for the team as they needed the time off to gather their thoughts and keep their mind off the field for a while. 

Extra Cover: Indian team management ordered the MCA to make a rank turner in Pune, says reports

After rejuvenating themselves, they should look to bounce back strongly in the 2^nd Test at Bangalore and get back to winning ways. The plan of producing a rank turner turned out to backfire against the Indian team, hence we might see a completely different pitch in Bangalore, so it will be interesting to see how Kohli’s men go about their game against the Kangaroos.

In social media...

Ravindra Jadeja and Ajinkya Rahane posted a picture of the team outing on their Instagram handles: