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Chandigarh: The Indian cricket team minus players playing in the Champions League landed here on Sunday ahead of the first Test against Australia starting on Friday.
In the afternoon, the players slugged it out for almost three hours in the nets at the PCA stadium, Mohali. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Amit Mishra went through the paces under the watchful gaze of coach Gary Kirsten. There was a minor scare when an Ishant delivery hit Sehwag on his right knee. He was immediately given medical assistance and was taken off and rested.
After the end of the session, on being asked how his knee was, Sehwag replied, "What knee?" Evidently, the players were under strict instructions not to speak to the media other then when authorized. Gary Kirsten though was more obliging.
Rahul Dravid is expected to join the team on Monday while skipper Mahender Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Murali Vijay are expected to come on Sept 29. According to pitch curator Daljeet Singh, the Mohali pitch hasn't dried out because of prolonged monsoon and lack of matches and so, the ball will keep low and come slowly on to the bat.
Punjab Cricket Association president IS Bindra said that a new stadium will come up after the 2011 World Cup and it would be more than twice the size of the present one. "All the planning and other matter will take 6-8 months and then the construction will start. It will have features like multi-level parking and we are also thinking of installing a automatic roof so matches can be held in any weather conditions," said Bindra.
