They follow the Deccan Chargers like shadows. Meet the security team of Dinesh Gangaram, Moipone Tindisa and Derrick Jacobs, whose job is to ensure the safety of the players and officials of the Chargers. For Dinesh it is his second stint as security expert with a cricket team.

"I handled the Indian team during the 2003 World Cup and in comparison to that the IPL has been a dream. There is less pressure now though the work involved is the same," says Dinesh.

Members of DC are a disciplined lot, according to Dinesh. As the job requires coordinating with various sections including local police and ground staff, the job of the experts is not possible without help from the team members.

"They usually don’t leave the hotel without informing me and we have six members from the company closely monitoring regular movers around the team hotel."

DC’s security team is not complete without the sniffer dogs that work overtime. "Without these cute ones our job will be incomplete. The stadium and hotel is checked on a daily basis while a bomb disposal squad scan the team bus from time to time," informs Dinesh. The trio does not have a moment to skip. They hardly get four hours of sleep in a day to ensure peace for Chargers.

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Gilly’s daughter ‘a bundle of joy’

Adam Gilchrist is here with his family. His daughter Anne is a bundle of joy and can’t get enough of the swimming pool. It is her second visit here and Mel Gilchrist says the kids love South Africa as it is very much like home.

They also enjoy the English food especially the salads. For 7-year-old Harry it is his fourth visit here. He was just two months when he came here during Australia’s tour of 2002.

Mel who is enjoying every minute of her stay here sees no difference in travelling with the Chargers from the Australian national team. "They are all very friendly and it has been fun," she signed off.

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Dine together, shine together!

The Chargers were scheduled to visit the Table Mountains after practice on Tuesday. But the plan had to put off as gusty winds made using the cable car dangerous. Some members of the team took the team bus to the Waterfront for some shopping while the others decided to spend time in the pool. The Challengers after their practice session took time to shop at the same mall. Members of the two teams dined at the Jewel of India, a famous Indian restaurant overlooking the port on one side and the waterfront on the other. Pragyan Ojha, Praveen Kumar and Rohit Sharma were together while Rahul Dravid and Robin Uthappa shared a table with members of the RCB. V. BALAJI