India vs Australia: Saha's hamstrings show signs of improvement as he hits the nets

It seems that Wriddhiman Saha's hamstring injury is improving as the wicket-keeper batsman had hit the nets lately. Saha is Team India's first-choice keeper for the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia that gets underway on December 17.

'Look who is batting'

Taking to the micro-blogging site, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had posted a video of a determined Wriddhiman Saha sweating it out in the nets. In the video, the veteran stumper can be seen playing few cricketing shots on the backfoot- Cover drive, leg-side flick, leaving one outside leg-stump, plenty of defensive shots, and a cut shot which prove that he is recuperating from his injury. The video was captioned by the national cricket board as 'Look who is batting in the nets today. Hello'.

Earlier this month, the Bengal-based cricketer had sustained injuries to both his hamstrings during his time with Hyderabad during the Dream11 IPL 2020 as a result of which he had missed the Orange Army's knockout matches. Hyderabad managed to get the better of southern rivals Bangalore in the Eliminator but went down to the eventual runners-up Delhi in Qualifier 2 as a result of which the 2016 winners had to be satisfied being the third-best side of this year's tournament.

India Tour of Australia 2020/21 (Test Series)

The final leg of India vs Australia 2020 series will see the two sides play four Tests in the Test Series. Adelaide is scheduled to play host to an iconic day-night Test between the two countries, with the series opener scheduled to begin on December 17.

The Boxing Day Test will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26, before the players go back to Sydney to play the annual New Year's Test. That match is scheduled for January 7 to give players some additional rest between matches. The final match of India vs Australia 2020 series will begin on January 15 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

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India look to rewrite history as Australia seek vengeance

As India and Australia lock horns in pure whites in December, it will not just be about Australia's vengeance or India's desire to write history, and nor will it be about winning the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Because this time, there's something much bigger on the line - The World Test Championship.

India currently sit atop the World Test Championship with 360 points whereas Australia are just below the Men in Blue with 296 points. The teams also face the challenge of COVID-19 and the taxing bio-bubble which is expected to take a toll on the players.

India had beaten Australia when they had toured Down Under during the 2018-19 season by a  2-1 margin in the four-match series to win their maiden Test series on Australian soil. It remains to be seen whether the Virat Kohli-led side will succeed in retaining the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy by getting the better of a full-strength Australian side that features the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, etc. 

However, Team India will have to rewrite history as Australia have never lost a pink-ball Test match. In fact, they have won all five of the D/N Tests that they have played so far from November 2015 and all those wins have come in their own backyard.

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