FIT AND READY: Rahul Dravid leads by example even during practice. Harbhajan Singh follows the captain. — Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

Bangalore: Rahul Dravid was all dancing feet and swinging arms. The Indian captain, renowned for his perfect defence, donned the aggressor role during the nets session of the cricket skills camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here.

Ramesh Powar was first lofted straight over long-off and Dravid ended his stint in style, hoisting Harbhajan Singh and seamer V.R.V. Singh over long-on and midwicket.

Dravid, who shared the session with Sachin Tendulkar, was, however, not finished. Ever the perfectionist, the Indian skipper had an extended batting stint while bio-mechanist Ian Frazer manned the bowling machine.

Dravid was in his element, leaning into his drives and whipping a few deliveries off his legs. Tendulkar, too, looked in good touch though he was beaten a few times by Singh, who worked up good pace and bounce.

Pleasing sight

Even as the Dravid-Tendulkar show went on, it was pleasing to see Kumble bowl alongside Harbhajan, Dinesh Mongia and Powar on the practice pitches.

The Indian leg-spinner, who is recovering from tendonitis in his right shoulder, had bowled cautiously on Tuesday but on Wednesday, Kumble had a comparatively longer spell and even bowled briefly to the Dravid-Tendulkar duo on the centre pitch.

He also did some throw-ins with physio John Gloster. "The shoulder is okay. I just wanted to test it and need to gradually build up," Kumble said.

In the afternoon, the batting trio of Tendulkar, Dravid and Mongia had extensive fielding drills at the KSCA (B) ground while the bowling trio of Harbhajan, Powar and Singh faced the bowling machine at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

At the fielding drills, the emphasis was on catching, both at slip as well as in the deep, throwing at the stumps and on diving skills to pluck the low catches.

Mongia was all praise for the session. "When I played the last time, it was under John Wright as coach. And now under Greg Chappell, some new things have come out. It is enjoyable and it is working well," he told the media.

"Today, there is more emphasis on skills. Two or three years back when John was there, there was more emphasis on physical fitness. That was also very crucial. Now, Greg and Rahul are very keen on improving our skills," Mongia added.

About the fielding drills, Mongia said: "The coaching staff said that if the skill is right then there would be less injuries, and the outcome is much better. Today's session was all about that.

"Greg spoke about the use of hips, not just the shoulder and arms, while throwing. He spoke about using the whole body while throwing, and said that it is much better than just using an arm."

Mongia's comeback had run into wet weather in Sri Lanka with rains washing out the Unitech tri-series. The southpaw hopes that the coming days would be better. "It was my comeback and I was really looking forward to the Sri Lankan tour, but unfortunately it got rained off."

All-round skills

Mongia reiterated that he was working to improve his all-round skills.

"I have spoken to Greg and Rahul, and they think that I have a role to play as a left-arm spinner as well. In the last two to three years, I have worked hard on all the three areas and I obviously want to prove a point as an all-rounder," Mongia said.

The camp will conclude on Thursday and the players will leave for Chennai for the practice matches to be held on September 8 and 9. The team is scheduled to leave for Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 10 for the tri-series starting on Sept. 12.

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