Sachin Tendulkar Felicitated By South Australia Cricket Association
Compared to Friday, the Adelaide Oval wicket looked less green on Sunday, but it’s still too green for Virender Sehwag and his men.
Indeed, manager Shivlal Yadav was seen having a lengthy chat with the ground staff at the end of the day’s practice session and his body language suggested concern in the lead-up to the Test which begins on Tuesday.
Australia have already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the four-Test series.
Apparently, the ground staff informed Shivlal that the grass would be trimmed on Monday, but not by much as it’s required to bind the wicket, more so as the temperature has been soaring.
One expects a 3-1 attack to be fielded, with Ravichandran Ashwin (the first choice spinner in this series) returning, in place of Ranganath Vinay Kumar.
Should the wicket actually begin to look more brown than green, before the toss, then Sehwag may look at giving Pragyan Ojha his first Test of the series.
If that happens, then Ishant Sharma will have to sit out.
No change is on the cards where the batting line-up is concerned.
As for Australia, to facilitate Nathan Lyon’s return, either Mitch Starc would be dropped or Ben Hilfenhaus rested. It’s a tough one.
Incidentally, the final stage of the Tour Down Under cycling race, which attracted thousands of spectators, forced a change in India’s practice schedule and commuting plans from the InterContinental to the ground.
All because the race was held off the Adelaide Oval and the picturesque area was closed to traffic.
Later in the day, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid (among others) returned to the ground for a South Australia Cricket Association (SACA)-organised function.
Sachin, Dravid and Ricky Ponting were presented a piece of history — with each getting a century-old scoreboard plate bearing his name and highest Test score at the Adelaide Oval.
“It’s quite big and, so, the SACA officials will courier the presentation across to India,” Sachin told The Telegraph.
As a photo-op, it couldn’t have got better.
For the record, Sachin’s highest is 153, registered on the last tour (2007-08), while Dravid and Ponting have double hundreds. Both, in fact, got their highest in the same Test (2003-04). Dravid had 233 and Ponting 242.
Ponting’s double, though, had been in vain.
Footnote: Srikar Palakani of the South Australia Police and his wife Vasundhara won’t forget Sunday evening in a hurry. They’d been at a bus stop opposite the team hotel, when Sachin crossed over on his way to the Stamford for dinner. “We’ve been so lucky... To be photographed with Sachin is unbelievable... A dream came true,” Palakani gushed, amazed at Sachin’s humility in acceding to his request.
© TELEGRAPH
