Those jinxed knees have once again come to the fore. Indian cricket's rising star Cheteshwar Pujara was hit on the left knee by a local bowler while he was batting in the nets on Monday.

The batsman looked in considerable pain as he left the nets immediately. Thankfully, it wasn't the fragile right knee - which was operated upon in 2011 - which kept the Saurashtra batsman out of action for nearly a year.

After getting medical attention, Pujara had his left-knee strapped and didn't take further part in the training session. He was initially seen walking with a slight limp before he chose to lie on a bench adjacent to the nets.

As the session ended, he got up, collected his gear and walked back to the pavilion. The Indian team also had a throw-down session, which Pujara gave a miss. Later, sources in the Indian team played down the injury and conveyed that it was only a "minor one".

The India No. 3 has been in prime form of late, becoming the second fastest Indian and 12th overall to reach 1000 Test runs. He also scored a double hundred in the Hyderabad Test to fashion an Indian win.

Skipper, coach test out the pitch

As soon as the Indian team entered the stadium for its scheduled practice session, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher headed straight towards the main pitch area along with chief curator Daljit Singh and tested the bounce of the track.

The captain and the coach then went back to the pavilion only to return after 15 minutes to inspect the pitch once again. The pitches adjacent to the main square looked pretty green but the one on which the Test match would be played - which had a tinge of green on Monday - bears a barren look now.

Team India sweats it out

The Indians practised in right earnest as they geared up for the third Test. As has been the common practice with the Indians these days, the players warmed up by playing a game of football before starting with their customary net session.

Shikhar Dhawan was the first one to get a hit, indicating that he might be the preferred opener along with Murali Vijay.

Ajinkya Rahane, also in contention for the opener's slot, got a hit a bit later, but was seen honing his skills till the end of the session, looking at ease against the spin duo of Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha.

Both Ojha and Bhajji, who are competing for the third spinner's slot, tried to impress skipper Dhoni. Sheer professionalism came to the fore during the two-hour session when Sachin Tendulkar played like a man possessed in the nets, showing the young guns what it takes to stay at the top for 24 years.



Cheteshwar Pujara More stills

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