By Abhishek Roy, IANS
Bangalore : For the Australian cricket team, the loss in the Twenty20 World Championship is past but the Indian team still seems to be basking in the glory of the triumph, as only four players arrived here Thursday ahead of the first one-day international of the seven match Future Cup series starting Saturday.
Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Zaheer Khan, Romesh Powar arrived early in the morning and were joined by local hero Rahul Dravid for a net session later at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. The other players including interim cricket manager Lalchand Rajput will join the team Friday.
The Australians on the other hand had a gruelling five-hour practice session under coach Tim Nielsen on a cool afternoon. Openers Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were seen going after some huge hits into the stands. The workers, who were busy giving the finishing touches, had to scamper for cover.
Australia’s campaign in the Twenty20 World Championship ended after they lost to India in the semi-final and revenge will be on their mind.
On the other end of the ground, the Indians were also quick to respond and Ganguly stepped out and hit Sunil Joshi out of the ground. Home boy Anil Kumble was also present and rolled his arms in the nets against Tendulkar.
“I can help the team whenever and wherever needed,” said Kumble, who retired from one-day cricket after India’s disastrous performance in the World Cup earlier this year.
Bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, who also hails from the city, seemed to be inspired by his former teammates and stepped into his bowling shoes against Tendulkar.
Meanwhile, curator Narayan Raju said the pitch will be a sporting one, giving advantage to both the bowlers and batsmen.
“The toss will not be a factor. It is a flat track with some moisture beneath. The ball should come smoothly to the bat and will also offer the fast bowlers some movement. It won’t crack as the day progresses and will help the stroke players,” said Raju.
The stage is set for a thriller under the floodlights at the sold out Chinnaswamy Stadium. The stadium can accommodate around 50,000 people. But of these only 12,000 odd seats are for the general public and the rest for the members of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), affiliated cricket clubs and other state cricket bodies.