Sachin back to ironing skills, Pujara fit

Hands, pads, and a slightly crouched body, all right behind the ball, that was Sachin Tendulkar at work at the Chinnaswamy Stadium nets on Thursday. HT reports.

Hands, pads, and a slightly crouched body, all right behind the ball, that was Sachin Tendulkar at work at the Chinnaswamy Stadium nets on Thursday.

Bangalore has been witness to a circumspect, reined in Tendulkar, concentrating hard on his defence for long hours, clearly following the dismissal in Hyderabad, where a Trent Boult delivery breached his defence, which was ungainly and very un-Tendulkar like.

At the nets, coach Duncan Fletcher chatted with Tendulkar, demonstrating the batting stance etc. From a distance, it was not clear what Fletcher was telling the master batsman but Tendulkar had his eyes fixed on his coach.

Skipper MS Dhoni brushed aside any suggestion that Tendulkar was under any fresh pressure."He is perfectly happy and the thing is, he has always been under pressure (of expectations). He may score 45 or 50 but for people it is not enough. He has always been under such pressure." He added there is nothing to worry about Tendulkar's form. "I think he is enjoying his game, which is very important. He works so much in the nets."

There was good news for Cheteshwar Pujara, who is fit to play and will retain his No. 3 spot. Pujara, who hit his maiden Test hundred in Hyderabad, took a hit while fielding at forward shortleg.

"Pujara is a bit sore, so the good thing is he batted today at the nets and also fielded. He got a hard hit which means it will take some time to heal, but I don't think it's restricting him in the field. I think he will be available," said Dhoni.