Big 'test' for Team India today |
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Thursday April 10, 02:21 AM
Though the Test starts on Friday, for a few in the Indian team 'the test' is tomorrow. Post-Motera doubts have been raised about the fitness of Anil Kumble, Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma, making the fitness assessment on match-eve crucial as India make their gameplan for the all-important match.
As the nets were about to end, national selector Bhupinder Singh entered the arena and had a long chat with physio Paul Close. He, along with another selector, will be overseeing the fitness test and decide if India needs a stand-in skipper for the final Test of the series and whether adjustments are needed in the bowling department.
Going by their longish stint at the net session it seemed Kumble, Sreesanth and Harbhajan were close to match fitness, while Ishant is still on the road to recovery. Kumble and Sreesanth started the session by batting but very soon they had the ball in their hands. Kumble bowled one spell at the nets and moved away but Sreesanth returned for a second stint in which he went all-out. After one pacy yorker to Irfan Pathan, he joked with the computer analyst: "I'm sure that was around 150 kmph."
Harbhajan, meanwhile, was in his element - beating the batsmen at the nets as he bowled without any visible signs of discomfort. The joke going around at Green Park was that the sight of the spin-friendly track has worked wonders to the fitness of the slow bowlers. And as one saw the other two spinners in the squad - Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar - bowling relentlessly, there was more than a hint that India might be going with three tweakers.
Even South African coach Mickey Arthur said that he expected India to play three spinners. "We are prepared for all the eventualities. We expect India to go in with three spinners in such conditions. We also have the option of two spinners, but we have not taken a decision on the team composition yet. I expect the track to deteriorate quickly," he said.
Like in Motera, Ishant Sharma had a brief stint at the nets today. After bowling just 16 deliveries, he moved away from the main nets and started batting. Munaf Patel, who has been included in the squad as back-up paceman, repeatedly got the batsmen in trouble with his precision.
As of now it seems Kumble and Harbhajan will take field on the Test day with a toss-up between Chawla and Powar. In the pace department, except for Ishant, the rest look fit enough to be considered.
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