There were enough signs at Seddon Park to suggest that a Test match was just round the corner. Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman formed the slip cordon as edges flew from fielding coach Robin Singh's bat. Gautam Gambhir crouched low as he prepared for his role as a close-in fielder. And there was the ultimate indication that a classical bat-ball encounter was just a couple of days away when the first thing Daniel Vettori did on reaching the stadium was to seek out the curator.
On a day when members of both teams gingerly walked on the grass-covered 22-yard strip, wondering if the greenish tinge will stay or go, the action eventually moved to the nets outside the playing area. As has been the case during most of Team India's sessions, Sachin Tendulkar was ready with tips for his team mates. Padded up against Ishant Sharma, he asked the young paceman to disguise his in-cutters better. Shouting out instructions, he told Ishant that his action was giving away the trajectory of the ball. Changes were made, and the results were clearly visible. When Virender Sehwag came to bat next, he lost his leg stump to a ball that jagged back.
In the far corner, Rahul Dravid was seen working on his front-foot play as coach Gary Kirsten gave him throw-downs. Another player who had an extensive workout was Zaheer Khan, continuously bowling for most of the two-hour session.
There were no clear indications, however, about who would be India's third seamer for the first Test. Just after the warm-ups, when bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad took Zaheer, Sharma and Munaf Patel for catching and throwing practice, it seemed that Lakshmipathy Balaji would be doing drinks duty. But gradually, the heavy bowling workload on Balaji hinted that he had a fair shot of making the XI.
When asked later, Balaji said he hadn't been told if he would play the match. Munaf, too, said nothing had been decided.
