THE PITCH FACTOR: Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid walk back after inspecting the Mohali pitch, the subject of hot discussion ahead of the second Test. — Photo: S. Subramanium

Mohali: Had the passengers of the aircraft that skimmed perilously over the PCA Stadium here looked down, they would have spotted an anxious looking groundsman (they might even have been able to see the worry lines, so low was the plane). Under the slate-grey sky, a reminder of Monday night's cloud burst, Daljit Singh — vice president of a material handling company when not tending to sprigs and cracks and soil content debates — handled queries with occasional glances at the heavens.

"When it rains here it usually continues for a few days, that's a bit of a worry," he said, as journalists inspected the two pitches up for consideration. One of them will be used for the second Test. The two adjacent strips seem right out of a separated-at-birth sibling story. One has — or at least had till late Tuesday evening — a covering of grass so luxuriant it's almost certain to not be chosen; the other would have been its brother if not for the judicious use of the mower.

Higher bounce

Both wickets felt rock hard to the knuckle, and the bounce should be higher than what was seen in Nagpur. But that's as much as one would hazard about its nature.

Once among the quickest in the country, this track since being re-laid has slowed down. In winter, seamers can still exploit the dampness of the track, a consequence of the moist air. But, the months of summer have begun. The wickets have also gone through a season of cricket — the punishing pounding would have doubtless caused wear and tear.

"These haven't been played on for six weeks so they should have recovered somewhat," said Daljit pointing to his babies. "But the winter then didn't allow any grass to grow. We have prepared it for two weeks, starting with watering it and heavy-rolling it in the first week, and using the light roller after that."

The topic of the mosaic of cracks on the surface came up. "Those aren't really a worry. Those are wide cracks; only the fine ones start to powder up. The surface here will be bound by the grass roots."

The Indian team practiced in the afternoon. After a bout of limbering up, the players hit the nets next to the main ground. V.R.V. Singh — not included in this match — helped out at the nets and beat Sachin Tendulkar with pace once. But, most interesting was the work coach Greg Chappell and bio-mechanist Ian Frazer were putting in with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Tough time

The Sardar has had a tough time of it recently. He was taken to the cleaners in Pakistan, and didn't have the fizz and whir of old. "I am just working on the seam position and on this," he said, twisting his hips and pivoting through. Frazer had worked on the much the same things in Mutare, Zimbabwe last year — asking Harbhajan to slow down during delivery stride to transfer momentum effectively and not run through the crease.

In the one-day series against Sri Lanka and South Africa, he had bowled beautifully. A lot slower through the air, his loop and consequent bounce seemed to have returned. But Pakistan has summoned a few demons; demons he'll be looking to exorcise.

Munaf Patel, the 22-year-old fast bowler, and left-armer R.P. Singh spoke to the press at the end of their session.

Munaf, who was called up for this Test, said he was looking to perform well if given a chance and that his confidence levels were high. He said he didn't think he had changed his action, contrary to reports. R.P. Singh spoke of finding the right areas on the track for maximum impact.

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