Laxman and Shabbir likely to returnVVS Laxman, who missed the first one-day international at Karachi due to a knee injury, is likely to return to the Indian line-up for the second match, to be played at Rawalpindi on Tuesday. Laxman is expected to replace Hemang Badani.
There was good news in the Pakistan camp too, with Haroon Rashid, the team manager, announcing that Shabbir Ahmed had recovered from his hand injury and would play in the second ODI. Shabbir, who had injured his left hand during the conditioning camp in Lahore, should replace Naved-ul-Hasan, who took three wickets but went for 73 runs, 24 of them in his first over.
Meanwhile, John Wright, the Indian coach, has called for a better performance from his bowlers, especially in the middle overs. According to a report by Press Trust of India, Wright said: "The bowling has been a problem. We bowled well in the first 15 overs but the middle overs is an area of concern and we have to address that problem quickly. The bowlers know about it and we have to sort out the problem in this area in the coming matches." India conceded just 71 in the first 15 overs at Karachi, but then went for 187 in the next 25, a rate of seven and a half per over.
VVS Laxman: all set to further bolster the Indian batting