If the Indian team were hoping for a quiet, meaningful practice session at the Adelaide Oval on Tuesday afternoon, then only half their wish came true. It was meaningful all right, but anything but quiet.

South Gate thrown open

In a unique initiative, Cricket Australia threw South Gate open for fans to witness from close quarters the training stints of Australia (in the morning) and India in the lead-up to the second Test, starting on Friday. No more than a couple of hundred turned up for the Australian session but by the time the Indians hit their straps, nearly 3,000 spectators, almost exclusively Indian, thronged the ground, watching their heroes go through fielding drills on the Oval outfield before retreating to the adjacent nets, where they batted in pairs.