Melbourne: After stumbling to a humiliating defeat in the first Test, it will be crucial for India to not dwell on the previous result and focus on the upcoming Boxing Day Test. The team has already reached Melbourne for the second Test and begun their preparations for the game.

"We are in Melbourne and now as the red-ball Tests start, it is time to regroup. #TeamIndia,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) tweeted. India suffered an eight-wicket loss in the first Test of the series. On the third day of the first Test, India was bundled out for 36 in the second innings and Australia was given a mediocre target of 90 runs to go 1-0 ahead. Australia chased down the total comfortably inside 21 overs with eight wickets in hand.

India have a major challenge to overcome as for the remaining matches, the visitors will be without skipper Virat Kohli, who headed back home after being granted paternity leave by the BCCI.

However, as far as the Australian side is concerned, they are not thinking too much about Kohli’s absence as they feel that his unavailability would not make India any less of a dangerous side. Australia spinner Nathan Lyon believes that there are enough guys in the Indian squad who can fill the shoes of Kohli.  

"You look at the Indian side, there are still some world-class players in their lineup, Pujara, and Rahane, just to name a couple. You still have the likes of Rahul and Agarwal as well who have been exceptional so I think there are enough guys in the Indian squad who can fill Virat’s shoes, obviously, Virat is a world-class player. We wish him all the best for the birth of his first child,” Lyon had said while replying to an ANI query during a virtual press conference.

"It is going to be a big challenge for us again, we will start our preparation really well and make sure we are prepared to take on India again in the Boxing Day Test. It is going to be another big challenge for us,” he had added.

The Boxing Day Test between India and Australia will begin on December 26.

India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is sweating it out as he looks to sharpen his skills with both bat and ball in training.  

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video on Twitter in which Jadeja can be seen going through the grind in the nets. "See, who is back in the nets. @imjadeja is here and has started preparing for the Boxing Day Test. #TeamIndia #AUSvIND,” BCCI tweeted. The board also shared the video of Shubman Gill sweating it out in the nets. "Nice and clean from @RealShubmanGill #TeamIndia #AUSvIND,” BCCI wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Pacer Ishant Sharma believes Rahane is a confident cricketer and loves communicating with the players on the field.

"He is very confident. He is very calm. I cannot say he does not have a sense of humour, obviously, he jokes around with us. But he is very confident in what he wants to do. I must say that he’s a bowler’s captain because whenever Virat has not been around on the field, Jinks always asked me what kind of field you want, when you want to bowl just tell me, or if you want to go on (bowling),” Ishant said during an interview with ESPN Cricinfo.

"So, I think he is a bowler’s captain. He is not someone who’ll say: do this or do that. Even when Virat is there (as captain), he (Rahane) will keep on asking, I do not know about others, but he asks me every single time: ‘How many overs you want to bowl so I will speak to Virat’,” he added.