DURBAN, April 24: There was no let up in intensity. Deccan Chargers tuned up for their next battle with a strenuous practice session. One batch of players had a knock in the nets while the others had a fielding stint in the main ground.

Poor Harmeet Singh received a blow on his ribs when as he reacted slowly to a drive from Dwayne Smith off his own bowling. Coach Darren Lehmann showed his concern by rushing in the physio quickly. Luckily for Harmeet the team doctor was near the nets. A bit of ice treatment and the sardar looked better.

After practice the topic shifted to cars. V.V.S. Laxman and Venugopal Rao were engaged in a discussion that centred on their favourite automobile. The bigger beasts are not for self driving was the conclusion in the camp. There were obvious references to the speed cars touch in South Africa and also the Lamborghini that impressed the pack in Cape Town. Incidentally Cape Town is one of the cities with the largest Lamborghini population.

R.P. Singh is quickly getting used to jokes on his purple cap. He is the tournament’s highest-wicket taker all right but the left-arm seamer does not want to get too attached to the cap. "I had it for a while last season but could not hold on to it in the end. Let us see at the end on who can keep it for good," said RP with that infectious smile.

The Mumbai Indians arrived 10 minutes before schedule. It gave a chance for members of both teams to exchange pleasantries. Harbhajan and Rohit Sharma engaged in friendly banter. The DC Players on their way out obliged every autograph hunter. The media is also kept happy as the Chargers keep up their appointments.

Sachin Tendulkar’s son, Arjun is the star attraction during practice. As the Chargers team bus left, Mumbai Indians’ trainer Ramji Srinivasan calls for the team to assemble at the main ground for training.

— V. Balaji