Sachin gets down to business

Reading the name Sachin Tendulkar on an Indian team-sheet is never a happy proposition for any opposition captain, especially if your team is 3-0 down and desperate for a win in order to keep the series alive. Even England off-spinner Graeme Swann had admitted to have been relieved when Tendulkar had opted out of the first three games.

The English squad was not scheduled to arrive from Kanpur until late on Friday night, but there were already ominous signs awaiting them ahead of what could easily turn out to be the last consequential match of the series.

Tendulkar, who returns to the fold after his sabbatical, arrived at the Chinnaswamy stadium in the afternoon, and looked in menacing touch as he hit the ball to every part of the ground. He might have done so within the confines of the net on a practice wicket, and against a bowling machine. But as he pulled, drove, cut and flicked like only he can, middling the ball almost every single time, it was clear that he was getting into his groove to face the likes of Flintoff, Anderson and Broad on Sunday.

Long net

He batted for almost an hour, and also hoisted one ball into the stands in what could be a prelude for a possible battering that the English bowlers may have to contend with in the fourth match of the series.

Tendulkar will, in all likelihood, replace fellow Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma, who is yet to come up with a meaningful contribution in the series. With Sehwag and Gambhir in fantastic form and having formed one of the most formidable opening partnerships in the world presently, it will be interesting to see where the team management decides to play Tendulkar. It is unlikely that the opening combination will be disturbed, and he might end up batting somewhere in the middle-order.

The weather and light may have been a little unkind to the visitors at Kanpur, but the ride for them just seems to get tougher.