Tendulkar gears up for Panesar challenge

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On a day when former Aus­tralian captain Ricky Pon­ting decided to retire from international cricket, Ma­ster Blaster Sachin Ten­dulkar batted with in­tense concentration at a practice session at the BKC grounds, here on Thur­sday.

Tendulkar’s unimpressive run this year, where he averages 22.83 from seven Tests with only one-half century has fuelled retirement talks. However, unf­azed by the criticism, the veteran player continued to bat with fluency in the nets against the likes of Zaheer Khan and five other local bowlers including the U-25 Mumbai left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar.

Paras Mhambrey, Ten­dul­kar’s longtime friend and Mumbai Indians’ assistant coach too was present at the practice session. Mhamb­rey, who bowls long spells in the nets to Tend­ulkar during the IPL, was once again at the forefront bowling in tandem with Zaheer.

With the worn out pitch aiding spin, the seasoned batsman was sharpening his technique against left-arm spin that proved to be his bane in the 2nd Test at Wankhede.