Peshawar: Off spinner Harbhajan Singh on Saturday suffered a bruise on his finger during the Indian team's practice session this morning, but it was unlikely to prevent him from playing the first limited overs international against Pakistan on Monday.
"Harbhajan suffered a bruise on the forefinger of his bowling hand while fielding today. And we asked him not to bowl at the nets as a precautionary measure only. He will be available to play in the first match," captain Rahul Dravid said.
The off spinner has a point to prove to the rivals as well as his own supporters after having been mauled in the two Test matches on batsmen-friendly surfaces at Lahore and Faisalabad.
He went wicketless in the first two Tests and was dropped for the third and deciding Test, which India lost by 341 runs.
Only ten players were available for practice as - besides Harbhajan - the four One-Day specialists (Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Murali Kartik and S Sreesanth) also missed the session.
The quartet arrived from Islamabad just after their teammates returned to the team hotel.
They had earlier missed the connecting flight from Lahore to Peshawar following a delayed daparture from Delhi late last evening, team manager GS Walia informed.
Walia said the four were expected to have 'nets' in the afternoon even as the rest of the team were slated to go to the Khyber Pass - 45 minutes' drive from here - that connects Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the wicket for the match at the Arbab Niazi Stadium appeared to be a typical One-Day track.
"I cannot predict the number of runs that will be scored on it, as it's up to the batsmen and bowlers, but it is being prepared keeping in mind the requirements of One-Day cricket," Pakistan Cricket Board's chief curator Agha Zahid.
Zahid, however, did not want to risk on predicting the behavious of the pitch.
"In earlier matches I had been saying that the wicket conditions would depend on the weather conditions. It is sunny now and the wicket is being baked under it, but if the weather changes the condition of the track would also change," was how the former Test cricketer - with 24 years experience in first class cricket - put it.
Pakistan have won six, including the only tie played against India on the latter's visit in 2004, and lost the other four ties they have played at this small ground with a capacity to seat around 15,000 spectators.
The straight boundaries looked shorter than the square ones. Tickets for the match have already been sold out, according to local association officials.
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