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This is one place where wishing the Indian team by saying "Break a leg" is strictly forbidden. "Health Check" takes you into the hitherto-unexplored realms of Andrew Leipus and Adrian Le Roux. Keeping weekly tabs on the aches and pains, or hopefully lack thereof, of the Indian team, "Health Check" gives you the complete low-down on the fitness levels of the touring side.
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Gloom at Sabina Park, cheer in Bangalore
With rain lashing Sabina Park, the good news, as far as India were
concerned, expectedly came away from the cricketing field. In
Bangalore, ace leg-spinner Anil Kumble continued his encouraging march
to recovery after surgery to fix his fractured injured jaw. Another 10
days should see Jumbo regain match-fitness, his doctors aver.
Even the news that his star leg-spinner was expected to be fit in time
for the England tour would have failed to cheer Indian captain Sourav
Ganguly on Saturday. Suspected food poisoning saw Ganguly tossing
about in pain through the wee hours of the night. Sunday morning also
found him in poor spirits. "I am feeling much better, but I couldn't
sleep at all last night," Ganguly informed concerned pressmen.
Thankfully, the second one-dayer also being rained out meant that he
did not have to sit out the match.
The rain though did not prove to be a boon to the young bunch of
Indian cricketers who were drafted into the one-day squad. Virender
Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik
were all kept indoors by the incessant showers and could only have one
proper nets session. The hotel gymnasium, naturally enough in the
circumstances, proved a popular haunt for the Indian team.
The youngsters, particularly Kaif and Yuvraj, are expected to play a
big role in boosting the standards of the Indian fielding in the
highly-demanding one-day atmosphere. Kaif, a 22-year-old from
Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, is considered to be the fittest cricketer
in the country, and his agility and reflexes could prove vital in the
point and cover regions that he normally patrols with commendable
efficiency.
Javagal Srinath was one man who would have loved to draw upon Kaif's
young legs and inexhaustible energy levels. After a Test series that
seemed to have physically sapped him, India's leading new-ball bowler
was understandably relieved at being afforded the opportunity to rest
himself before the England tour.
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