JOIN USIndia’s spearhead for a while now, the left-arm quick is the most crucial component in the bowling wheel. Recently laid low by a hamstring strain, he had stayed away from practice on Monday but on Tuesday afternoon, he was back in his elements, not going flat out but offering enough indications that come Thursday, he should be a part of the playing eleven.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. Zaheer was only a goaltender during the preliminary, now customary, game of football to get the blood flowing and the muscles relaxed, then spent time with physio Paul Close with a few runs on the outfield while the rest retired to the adjoining facility for a ‘net’ session.
When he joined his mates at nets, he took a while finding his feet, initially approaching the crease gingerly and bowling well within himself. After a few balls, he felt emboldened enough to run in harder, but still didn’t go all out, mindful of the potential for further damage. Heartened by the developments but unwilling to jump the gun, the think-tank opted to play it safe, leaving a final call on his availability until Wednesday’s final training stint.
The onus at nets was for the batsmen to get used to bounce, as much as anything else, on the spicy pacers’ pitch. Different batsmen adopted different methods to counter an element that isn’t necessarily the norm in India. Sachin Tendulkar played the orthodox and the patented upper-cut, Rahul Dravid focussed on the conventional cut and VVS Laxman preferred the pull and hook, all making the most of the charged-up Indian pacers who relished bowling on an encouraging surface.
How much should be read into Cheteshwar Pujara batting long, and early – well ahead of Suresh Raina – at nets is open to question. Raina didn’t have the best series against New Zealand but Dhoni put it down to mental fatigue, more than anything else.
The Uttar Pradesh left-hander, who made a sensational Test debut earlier this year with a polished century, has had a break of nearly a fortnight from competitive cricket; it’s likely that his perceived mental state will dictate which one of he or Pujara will play in the first Test.