Chanderpaul likely to play in Mumbai

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies batsman, is expected to play in the third Test against India, despite an injured calf muscle. Chanderpaul had missed West Indies' practice session in Mumbai on Sunday, but he should be fit for the Test that begins at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, according to media manager Philip Spooner.

"He [Chanderpaul] has taken a break from practice today to rest his calf muscle that he strained in Kolkata," Spooner told PTI. "But he should be able to play in the Test here." Chanderpaul had sustained the injury during the second Test in Kolkata last week.

If Chanderpaul does not play the pressure would pile on West Indies' young crop of batsmen. Chanderpaul has played 133 Tests, while the rest of the West Indies team aggregates 139 matches. Kirk Edwards, one of West Indies' young top-order batsmen who scored a dogged half-century in the second innings in Kolkata, said the side is in good spirits going into the Mumbai Test.

"Of course, we will be going into this Test match with confidence," Edwards said. "I think we were pretty confident as a team even before the second innings [in Kolkata]." West Indies had offered stiff resistance in the second innings, piling up 463, after being bowled out for 153 in their first attempt and made to follow on. West Indies go into the Mumbai Test trailing 2-0 in the three-match series.

Edwards has scored two hundreds in five Tests, with a century on debut against India in Dominica in July this year. He is still working on learning all he can at the highest level, he said. "You have to try to understand how the pitches play and try to adjust your game. That's what I am doing, [I'm] in the process of learning. Every time I go out to bat, I try to lay a solid platform for my team."

Playing against India's senior batsmen and observing them from close quarters is helping that learning process, Edwards said. "Sometimes, I find myself focusing on him [Sachin Tendulkar] so much that I am not focusing on my fielding. I admire [Rahul] Dravid and [VVS] Laxman too. I admire a majority of those guys, but playing a game with Sachin was something special."