With one eye on Test series, India seek 3-0 finish to T20Is

Around noon on Monday (December 7), Jasprit Bumrah and Mayank Agarwal arrived at the Drummoyne Oval for a net. After greeting the support staff and some of their teammates busy with the warm-up game against Australia A, the duo headed straight in there, located at the back of the picturesque venue, parallel to the pristine Parramatta River.

It was an intense pink-ball session between the two where Bumrah seemed to get the better of Agarwal with a very incisive spell on a spicy pitch. The Test opener also faced a lot of other challenging tussles against the likes of Raghu, Nuwan Seneviratne and batting coach Vikram Rathour, each armed with a brand-new pink ball. He did have some issues negotiating with the balls that jumped up off a length, even getting a little annoyed with himself at times. But he hung in there, just like India would hope he does when they get to the Adelaide Oval on December 17.

This was of course just the first of many practice sessions for the Indian Test players as they prepare for the high-profile series to commence in 10 days' time. Seeing Bumrah and Agarwal locked in battle with a pink-ball was also a sign that the Indian touring party has more or less moved on from the white-ball segment of their Australian tour. And why not.

They've after all given themselves that licence following their convincing win at the SCG on Sunday (December 6) with which they sealed the T20I series the same way the Aussies had done the ODIs last week. This is not to say that the third and final T20I on Tuesday (December 8) will be any less important. A win will extend their world record streak of consecutive wins in the format to 11 and also make sure that they remain unbeaten in T20Is for the year 2020, which is sure to have a nice retrospective ring to it.

Tuesday's match is also a significant moment for Australia as a country in their fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. It'll be the first time a stadium or any venue of note will be hosting a 100 per cent capacity crowd and the tickets have been selling off the charts ever since the new protocols of freedom were announced recently by the NSW government. And dead rubber or not, the SCG will be covered in an actual sea of blue. The parking lots on either side of Driver Avenue were brimming with vehicular activity even on Sunday and it's all set to get a lot more manic for the final day of this first leg of the tour.

It'll also be potentially the last chance for Hardik Pandya's new legion of fans around the country, regardless of origin or background, to see him this summer unless he is indeed held back for the Tests. The all-rounder,