India's injury concerns ease

Three of India's key players who were reported to have had injury scares over the last three days were the first ones out for their training session at the Sector 16 Stadium in Chandigarh. Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were the first set of batsmen to take the centre pitch and the adjoining net available for batting, and Harbhajan Singh was the first bowler to bowl. Moreover, they trained without much obvious discomfort during the session that went on for close to five hours.

Some of India's players have been in Chandigarh over the last three days, but the rest, with the exception of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and M Vijay, who won the Champions League T20 in Johannesburg on Sunday, joined in on Tuesday.

That Gambhir, Harbhajan and Sehwag practised without unease was good news for India, who had appeared to run into fitness problems in the lead-up to this series - a reminder of the fitness disaster during the Sri Lanka tour. Reports that Harbhajan had an MRI scan done on Monday, and that he was doubtful for the Test, were a serious concern for India. However, he had had longish bowling session in the nets on Monday, and bowled, batted and fielded for extended periods on Tuesday as well.

Gambhir was hit on the right hand by a rising Ben Hilfenhaus delivery in the tour game, which ended his participation for the remainder of the match. The decision to not take the field or bat later in the game, however, seems like just a precaution. Sehwag was reported to have been hit on the knee by Ishant Sharma in one of the nets sessions, but he, too, looked hardly in trouble. There has been no official word from the BCCI yet.

Australia, meanwhile, gave its players a break after a fruitful three-day game in the Chandigarh heat. The first Test begins on Friday.