Aaron, Binny meet school kids
Members of the Indian squad Varun Aaron and Stuart Binny met school kids enjoying the match at the Ferozshah Kotla Stadium in the capital on Friday.
During the tea break, the two players walked around the stand where the school kids are seated to shake hands and see their heroes from up close.
On the first day, on Thursday, Shaun Pollock and Sanjay Manjrekar had met the kids as well.
In an initiative recommended by Justice Mudgal, free tickets have been provided along with meals for school children to attend the Test match with every day a new school getting the opportunity.
These school children, in hundreds, have thronged the stadium and been a huge factor in uplifting the atmosphere that has been missing so far in the series. They've cheered every single, every four and every six by an Indian batsman. They also stood up and applauded Ajinkya Rahane's maiden hundred and somberly appreciated when he went back. In fact, they even cheered the arrival of the flashy and entertaining AB de Villiers.
Kohli, Dhawan and Ishant in Delhi team
New Delhi: Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishant Sharma were named in the Delhi team for the upcoming Vijay Hazare ODI Trophy to be played between 10th December and 18th December in Delhi.
Even though their name features in the 15-man squad announced today by the DDCA, the backup options have been kept handy in case they don't feature. On standby are Dhruv Shorey, Vaibhav Rawal and Vikas Tokas. The trio could feature — as can other national team players — if the series against Pakistan doesn't get the go ahead from the government. Currently, the series is in a limbo despite the agreement between BCCI and PCB of holding it in Sri lanka. The Indian squad is expected to leave for the island neighbours by 9th December in order to prepare for the series. BCCI had agreed to play six bi-lateral series with their bitter rivals over the course of five years but that looks increasingly unlikely given the current political climate.
Squad: Gautam Gambhir (captain), Unmukt Chand, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Nitish Rana, Milind Kumar, Manan Sharma, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehram Pradeep Sangwan, Ishant Sharma, Navdeep Saini, Subodh Bhati, Shivam Sharma, Rahul Yadav (wicketkeeper).
Pujara sustains bruised forearm, fit to bat today
Indian team management today confirmed that the forearm injury sustained by Cheteshwar Pujara is not very serious and he will be able to bat tomorrow during the Indian second innings.
While fielding at short-leg, Pujara was hit by a full-blooded pull shot from South Africa's left-handed opener Dean Elgar. It was the fourth ball of the eighth over and the bowler was Umesh Yadav.
The Saurashtra player was in considerable pain and was taken off the field for a precautionary x-ray to check out if he had sustained a fracture. He did not field for the remaining 41.5 overs. "Cheteshwar Pujara, who got hit while fielding at short leg, was taken for a precautionary x-ray. Nothing serious, it is a bruise. He will get treatment tonight and should be able to bat tomorrow," team's media manager Nishant Arora told mediapersons at the end of the day's play.