A Balanced Equation

The vibes between Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri are good, the chemistry strong and the results excellent but the durability of the bond between the captain and the coach is yet to be tested

- Jasvinder Sidhu

WITH THE SUN beating down, and the air humid, it was a typical Sri Lankan summer day. On such a day, just ahead of the second Test, the Indian team was in the middle of a hectic practice session at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground. There was no let-up in the intensity as the players went through the drills despite winning the first Test by a massive margin of 304 runs.

Assistant batting coach Sanjay Bangar was in the middle of an intense throw down session with Shikhar Dhawan, who scored an imperious 190 in the first Test. A little distance away, in one of the nets, bowling coach Bharat Arun was working with Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami. In another part of the practice ground, fielding coach Ramakrishnan Sridhar was setting up drills for the players after they were done with their batting and bowling sessions.

Amidst all this hustle and bustle, head coach Ravi Shastri, sporting a blue Team India T-shirt and shorts, had his eyes on captain Virat Kohli. The batsman, instead of honing his trademark cover drive, was bowling right arm medium pace for a change to left-handed opener Abhinav Mukund. Undoubtedly, Shastri enjoys a comfortable equation with Kohli—something that any captain would relish.