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Tendulkar and Ponting trained together

Cricket fans in Bangalore were treated to a rare spectacle on Monday, as batting greats Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting trained together, for the same team. The former Australia captain was glued to the batting grind of his Mumbai Indians team-mate ahead of their side's IPL campaign.

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Tendulkar, who struggled in the recent home Test series against England and Australia, had a two-hour batting session at the National Cricket Academy, with captain Ponting keeping a close watch on him ahead of Mumbai Indians' IPL campaign opener against Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 4.

Tendulkar spent the most time in the nets while Ponting, Rohit Sharma and Dinesh Karthik batted for around 45 minutes.

Ponting exhibited his array of strokes

A padded up Tendulkar faced throw-downs with a straight bat for nearly 20 minutes on the NCA's centre pitch, while Ponting exhibited his array of strokes, including trademark pull shots.

Once Ponting wound up, Tendulkar, wielding two different bats, slipped into the nets and faced Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha who bowled in tandem. The veteran batsman concentrated on playing more with a straight bat on either side of the wicket.

Occasionally, he unleashed his trademark shots, like the backfoot punch and hoick over square-leg fielder. He also constantly chatted with Harbhajan and Ojha.

Ponting studiously watched Tendulkar

While Tendulkar batted in the nets, Ponting studiously watched him for close to an hour. The spectacle was a treat for those present.

Ponting was also seen having animated discussions with Harbhajan and other team-mates and Mumbai Indians' chief mentor, former India captain Anil Kumble.

After facing the likes of Harbhajan and Ojha, Tendulkar picked up his other bat and walked up to the adjacent net to face club bowlers. While his teammates took some time to rest, he went on knocking the balls.

At the other corner, Karthik faced throw-downs on the concrete pitch, focusing on getting cover drives and short-arm pull shots right.

Rohit padded then up and faced the throw-downs on the centre pitch, testing his wrist-work on either side of the wicket.