No green please! Bring in more colours

Enough of green. The red signal the greenery brought to the Indian side in Newlands has forced the team management to put their thinking cap on, so much, that they have decided to focus on other colours – Red and Yellow.

Enough of green. The red signal the greenery brought to the Indian side in Newlands has forced the team management to put their thinking cap on, so much, that they have decided to focus on other colours – Red and Yellow.

India’s physiotherapist, Patrick Farhart was the mastermind behind India’s break-the-green campaign. To reduce stress and tension, Patrick divided Kolhi and Co. into Red and Yellow teams. The props used were Red and Yellow towels.

In a never seen before warm-up drill, Team India were seen playing a save and snatch game ahead of the second Test match in Centurion.

MTV reality shows or Big Boss fans will find it easier to understand. Those with red towels had to save theirs and snatch the yellow ones from the other team. Team Yellow had to the opposite.

Don’t believe I’ve seen this kind of warm-up in 20 years of covering cricket around the world #SAvIND @bcci #cricket pic.twitter.com/vTUfIrkZeo

— Anand Vasu (@anandvasu) January 11, 2018

A game of football or volleyball is quite the norm in practice sessions of cricket teams but not a game of save and snatch. It certainly had nothing to do with physical endurance or stamina, nor was it in anyway going to help in enhancing the concentration levels of Vijay, Kohli or Pujara, the sole purpose of this exercise was to banish the stress. And If the giggles on the players’ faces were anything to go by then Patrick surely accomplished his mission.  

Though the Centurion track doesn’t have that green layer of grass to send the alarm bells in the opposition camp, the visitors did not take a chance. Coming straight from a 72-run defeat played on a lively Newlands track, Indian batsmen were busy focusing on their backfoot game.

They would need all of that and even a bit more to come back into the series in Centurion, a venue which traditionally assists hit-the-deck bowlers.

Come Saturday morning, India will have to save their wickets and snatch runs from the South African seamers in a game that matters and throwing in the towel is not option.