Battered by formidable Australia in the recent one-day series, Indian cricketers
used the opening day of the camp today to rejuvenate themselves ahead of the tough
engagements against Pakistan.
The two-hour session at the floodlit Eden Gardens saw ageing warhorses Sourav
Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar spend the maximum time at the nets.
Tendulkar seemed in full flow against both spinners and pacers, as he executed
a flurry of strokes that triggered spontaneous applause from the sizeable number
of cricket buffs present at the galleries.
Ganguly, who looked a bit circumspect initially, settled down
after some time, to play some trademark aggressive shots.
The other batsmen also had some fruitful net sessions, while the bowlers in
the team turned their arms for long spells, though the pacers had to do with
shorter run ups in view of the run up being slightly wet due to rains over the
last couple of days.
The conditions also forced fielding coach Robin Singh to stick to some
standard fielding drills with his boys.
Among the battery of local bowlers deployed by the Cricket Association of Bengal,
one caught the attention of those watching the proceedings because of his white
skin.
Many were seen asking "who is this sahib?" A CAB
official later said that the foreigner was Nigel, a bowler from the Lancashire
minor county league, who has been recruited by a city club Kalighat this year.
The Indian players would have two sessions on the morrow. In the morning, they
would slog it out at the nets for three hours before having a one and half hour
fielding session in the afternoon.
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