This is one place where wishing the Indian team by saying "Break a leg" is strictly forbidden. "Health Check" takes you into the hitherto-unexplored realms of Andrew Leipus and Adrian Le Roux. Keeping weekly tabs on the aches and pains, or hopefully lack thereof, of the Indian team, "Health Check" gives you the complete low-down on the fitness levels of the touring side.

Gloom at Sabina Park, cheer in Bangalore

With rain lashing Sabina Park, the good news, as far as India were concerned, expectedly came away from the cricketing field. In Bangalore, ace leg-spinner Anil Kumble continued his encouraging march to recovery after surgery to fix his fractured injured jaw. Another 10 days should see Jumbo regain match-fitness, his doctors aver.

Even the news that his star leg-spinner was expected to be fit in time for the England tour would have failed to cheer Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Saturday. Suspected food poisoning saw Ganguly tossing about in pain through the wee hours of the night. Sunday morning also found him in poor spirits. "I am feeling much better, but I couldn't sleep at all last night," Ganguly informed concerned pressmen. Thankfully, the second one-dayer also being rained out meant that he did not have to sit out the match.

The rain though did not prove to be a boon to the young bunch of Indian cricketers who were drafted into the one-day squad. Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik were all kept indoors by the incessant showers and could only have one proper nets session. The hotel gymnasium, naturally enough in the circumstances, proved a popular haunt for the Indian team.

The youngsters, particularly Kaif and Yuvraj, are expected to play a big role in boosting the standards of the Indian fielding in the highly-demanding one-day atmosphere. Kaif, a 22-year-old from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, is considered to be the fittest cricketer in the country, and his agility and reflexes could prove vital in the point and cover regions that he normally patrols with commendable efficiency.

Javagal Srinath was one man who would have loved to draw upon Kaif's young legs and inexhaustible energy levels. After a Test series that seemed to have physically sapped him, India's leading new-ball bowler was understandably relieved at being afforded the opportunity to rest himself before the England tour.

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