CHENNAI: The Indian skipper Anil Kumble is quietly confident of his side’s chances in Sri Lanka. He was quiet clear of India’s victory in the three-Test cricket series. “As a Test team we have done exceptionally well in the last year or so,” said the Indian captain in Chennai. “Like always, this time too we will put up a good show and ensure a series win.”

Even though several members of the team had participated in a week-long camp in Bangalore, Monday marked the first time the 16-man squad came togther for training. After two sessions of stretching, parted by a game of competitive touch rugby, the players were later divided into three groups and got engaged in fielding drills. The squad worked on close catching and ground fielding for nearly 30 minutes before shifting to the ‘open’ nets.  Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag were the first pair to bat, which was followed by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, and V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.

Dinesh Karthik and Parthiv Patel tried hands behind the wicket in the nets. Both keepers also spent time with fielding coach Robin Singh. India coach Gary Kirsten was also present at the moment closely monitored the training, clipboard in hand, when not throwing down spiteful bouncers from 16 yards. “We have had some criticism for not practising enough, but this team actually practises a huge amount,” says Kirsten.

Kirsten was excited about the seam-bowling talent India has while facing Sri Lanka. “It’s nice to have Zaheer back,” said Kirsten troubled Sehwag with in-duckers on Monday. Kumble was conscious of the importance of the bowling attack working in partnerships. “It is about team work, not just the spinners handling the load alone,” says the ace spinner. Kumble feels that as generally the team knows the wicket well, it becomes the responsibility of four or five bowlers to ensure a winning series in Sri Lanka.

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