Indians assert themselves

By G. Viswanath

JOHANNESBURG, SEPT. 28. In less than the week's time that the Indians have been here, they may not have managed to evoke more than curious interest, but have succeeded in prodding the home authorities to provide for training and practice the type of pitch - hard and bouncy - that they are likely to play on in the next two months.

The Indian team management, somewhat irritated by the slow practice pitches at The Wanderers nets, persuaded the United Cricket Board to shift their training and practice to the Centurion in Pretoria.

The main intention of re-arranging - advancing the departure by almost one week - the travel schedule of the team was to enable its batsmen and bowlers to get used to the conditions, pitch and otherwise.

The team physio Andrew Leipus and coach John Wright had already spent time here to make sure that everything was in order when the team reached here last Monday. The Indians went through specific drills and practised for three days at The Wanderers nets, which Sachin Tendulkar described as ``a very nice experience.'' But the little champion also added a rider saying, ``It (the pitch) appeared to be a little slow.''

The Indian team manager, Dr. M.K. Bhargava, said, ``The pitches at The Wanderers nets was like typical Indian ones. But the team has been putting in at least six hours every day since they arrived here on Monday. Today (Friday) they trained and practised till 2-30 p.m. at The Centurion. Moreover, the batsmen have had the benefit of facing six to seven local fast bowlers.''

Furthermore, there was another reason to travel to The Centurion, about an hour's drive from Johannesburg, and get a feel of the venue there. The Indians will be playing South Africa in one of the tri-series matches there on October 10 and the team management felt it necessary to practise there.

``The practice pitches there (at The Centurion) were good. There was good bounce,'' said Dr. Bhargava. Tendulkar agreed with him saying, ``Yes, it was very good.''

Coach John Wright has been quoted as saying, ``The nets (at The Wanderers) have been excellent, but the pitches are a little slow and the Indian batsmen must get the benefit of batting on a hard surface before they play the tour opener against Nicky Oppenheimer XI at Randjesfontein next Monday.''

The Indians have once again decided to spend the morning session on Saturday at The Centurion.

While the Indians have been quietly doing things their way and trying to find their feet, the third team in the limited- over series to start on October 5, Kenya, arrived in the city on Thursday evening. The South Africans are still in Zimbabwe to finish their one-day series engagements.

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