Sachin prays at Kalighat temple

Sachin Tendulkar, yet to strike it rich at the Eden Gardens, visited the 200-year-old Kali temple at Kalighat here and offered prayers. Tend...

Sachin Tendulkar, yet to strike it rich at the Eden Gardens, visited the 200-year-old Kali temple at Kalighat here and offered prayers. Tendulkar, escorted by a large posse of policemen, reached the shrine in South Kolkata revered by pilgrims and offered puja last night. He stayed there for ten minutes. He was accompanied by Indian opener Sanjay Bangar, a religious-minded person. Eden has not seen much of vintage Tendulkar, who has only managed scores of 0, 9, 10 and 10 in his last four Test innings on the ground. Having played five Tests at the Eden, the star batsman has only two 50-plus scores.

Security net for Test

The Eden Gardens was sewn up in a tight security net for the third Test between India and West Indies beginning tomorrow with commandos, Rapid Action Force and sniffer dogs on alert. At least 3,000 policemen have been deployed to ensure security of the players and spectators during the game. Around 70,000 spectators are expected to turn up for the match, where armed policemen would be deployed at each entry to the stadium and any person arousing the slightest suspicion would be frisked, police sources said. Sniffer dogs were in evidence this morning on the outfield and also the dressing rooms as the Kolkata Police were taking no chances. There was much commotion when overzealous security personnel barred entry of the media from the lower tier of the Club House, which is close to the practice nets of the Indian team.

Hooper seeks positive result

West Indies skipper Carl Hoopersaid that his side had to improve its catching and bat in a balanced way for a ‘‘positive’’ result in the third and final Test against India. ‘‘Our fielders have to improve on their catching. We have dropped too many chances,’’ Hooper told newspersons during the pre-match briefing. Expressing disappointment with the side’s performance in the series which India have already wrapped up with wins in Mumbai and Chennai, Hooper said his batsmen needed to adopt a balanced approach to tackle Indian bowlers. ‘‘Our batsmen have played from one extreme to the next. Only on some days can one play too many shots. On other days you have to strike a right balance which is very important,’’ he said.