Injury time before kick-off

With only 13 fit players,India sweat on the eve of first Test against the West Indies.

His reaction was so extreme,it looked as if Abhinav Mukund had been shot at. But to be fair to the Tamil Nadu youngster,most batsmen would have bellowed out in horror and cringed if they had faced that delivery in the nets. With his height,Ishant Sharma does have the ability to generate bounce out of most wickets. But this one to Mukund pitched barely an inch short of length and reared up so menacingly at the left-hander that it had the fellow Indian players jumping out in concern and rushing towards him to check if he was all right.

Among the first ones was Murali Vijay. And the relief on his face,and that of the entire Indian camp,was as evident as it was understandable once they realised that Mukund had escaped any serious injury and,in fact,could bat on in the nets. But he was done facing the fast bowlers.

The practice wickets had not been rolled after the West Indians had finished their training earlier in the day,and it had begun to turn too hazardous for the batsmen. And though Duncan Fletcher got his first chance to stand up for his new teams cause he dashed across to the other side of the ground to give the curator a severe piece of his mind Mukund and the rest of the Indian batsmen were left to face spin and throw-downs from Eric Simons.

Vijay himself had not been that lucky the previous day. The blow he suffered on his left-hand had rendered him unfit for practice on Saturday. He wasnt the only one left twiddling his thumbs during the practice session. Munaf Patels right elbow injury reared its ugly head again,and after turning his arm over following a five-day hiatus,the lanky pacer couldnt bowl beyond 10 balls.

Consequently,as India prepare for the first Test of the three-match series at Sabina Park on Monday,their 16-member squad is already reduced to 13 fully-fit men,with Abhimanyu Mithun expected only to arrive on the opening day of the match. And not only will India most likely go in with three debutants 8211; Mukund,Virat Kohli and Praveen Kumar there is a good chance that this will be the youngest Test team that Team India would have fielded in more than a decade.

Vijay,who does not have a fracture on his left hand,though is expected to open the innings.

Well the first preference goes to Murali Vijay and Abhinav Mukund openers,and if something happens then Parthiv Patel is there to open the innings, said Mahendra Singh Dhoni in his first press-conference as Indian captain after the World Cup victory.

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But while the first Test is already being built up as a test of fiery pace for the Indians with Fidel Edwards insisting that this was the quickest pace attack he had been part of in his seven-year career the jack in the box for the hosts could well be leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo. The Guyanese tweaker was at his tricky best on Saturday,bamboozling a number of his teammates with leg-breaks and googlies. Though renowned for their ability against spinners,Bishoos ability to turn the ball off a quick-arm action and at a flattish trajectory might well catch the Indians off-guard.

I think he is a good bowler and can turn the ball a lot. So we will look to put pressure on him so that he bowls some loose balls, said Dhoni.

The tricky practice wicket near the Marley Gate at Sabina Park,however,did not display any biases towards the home team. A few hours before Mukund was hit on his chest,West Indian opener Adrian Barath too suffered a blow to his right shoulder from a Fidel Edwards bouncer. Both Barath and Mukund probably just got a taste of what lies in store over the coming week.

But as they say in these parts,You gotta get the licks to win the war maan.

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West Indies have a good record against India in Test matches. They have won 30,lost 11 and drawn 41 in 82 Test matches. At home,the Caribbeans have beaten India on 16 ocassions ,losing only in four of the 42 Tests.

Sabina Park,Kingston is also the good ground for the hosts. They have won six,lost just one,drew three in 10 Tests against India.

Indias only victory at this ground came in 2005-06 series. After winning that Test match by 49 runs,India also won a series in the Caribbean for the first time in 35 years.

HIGHEST IN AN INNINGS:

India: 220 Sunil Gavaskar at Port of Spain 1970-71

West Indies: 237 Frank Worrell at Kingston 1952-53