Sachin feels fine but knows this isn’t the real thing

• The plot: Checking on Tendulkar’s elbow

With the third Test at Nagpur fast approaching and India’s middle-order batting not what it should be, Sachin has been giving his tennis elbow a strenuous workout over the past couple of days.

Today’s line-up, which included former India fast bowler Paras Mhambrey, was interesting because of the choice of a couple of leg-spinners: Sachin obviously has his sights set on old adversary Shane Warne.

Unlike the previous two days of his practice at the MIG Club, Tendulkar headed straight to his kit and got ready for some action. This was something everybody was waiting and the sun broke and the sky became clearer, the crowds around not very huge, started gathering.

Ready with bats of varying weights, he knocked a few balls before taking his first full stint at the nets. The first 15 minutes he was just feeling his way through, trying to gauge the state of his elbow with the wide range of bats on offer.

‘‘The bats may have differing weights, but it is a marginal difference. The main thing is the comfort factor’’, Sachin explained.

His batting after a short tea-break was different. He took guard and was prepared, as he later said, ‘‘to put pressure on my body’’ just to test himself.

Out came all the vintage lofted shots, straight drives the works. Mhambrey, the most decent bowler on offer, was treated with contempt. It was a champion’s way of working himself back to fitness.

Leipus and King looked on in close concentration from a vantage position near the nets. Eventually Leipus called ‘‘time’’ and asked his patient to end his stint for the day.

The London-based physio appeared satisfied with the workout. ‘‘Sachin has gone through everything we have asked him to do’’, he said. ‘‘But the most important day would be the day after.’’ That’s the deadline he’s been given to prove his fitness.

Sachin himself appeared relaxed. ‘‘I had no discomfort today, for I went through the shots and did not have any sort of strain. My body has taken the load very well’’, he added with a smile.

He acknowledged, though, that this was nothing like the real thing: conditions in a match situation will be far different because of the impact of extreme heat on his body. ‘‘This is not England where it is always cold, here it will be tough. I will have to make sure that I have enough water.’’

Just the right time for Leipus to have the final word on the matter. ‘‘Look, he will go to Nagpur on Sunday morning only if we declare him fit.’’