Yuvraj Singh at the Keenan Stadium after net practice. Picture by Bhola Prasad

As the steel city residents brace for the screaming paces, the toppling spins and the thrashing boundaries, here are a few snippets on how the stars are faring off the pitch.

A doosra on Bhajji

Bhajji is known to give batsmen uncomfortable moments. But on Monday, while leaving Dhoni?s felicitation dinner, he got a taste of how it is to be on the other side of a doosra.

The bowler in question was none other than director-general of police V.D. Ram?s official driver. Clad in jeans and an orange T-shirt, Harbhajan happened to stand adjacent to the DGP?s car after the dinner, catching the driver?s attention, and ire.

?Get away from here! Don?t stand here! Sahib is about to come,? came a screaming doosra from the driver.

An astonished Harbhajan looked here and there before someone pointed out to the driver who the turbaned-man was. The poor driver was about to apologise, but Bhajji had dashed off to the waiting team bus.

Exercise after dinner

At the BOC Pavilion last night, the swashbuckling Dhoni was put on the back foot by none other that steel city?s press photographers.

The cricketer grew tired of the relentless requests from the lensemen, who wanted to capture as many poses of the son-of-the-soil as possible. After sometime, a tired-looking Dhoni almost made a dash for the exit. But the photographers followed him with amazing agility, giving heartburn to even the best runners between the wickets.

Screams of joy

Thanks to cricket enthusiasts, mostly students, the media box was swarmed with screaming fans who had come there to watch the net sessions of Indian and English players. ?Dhoni, Dhoni!? cried the students, some of them girls, much to the amusement of the cops, who, under their breaths, were cursing their duty under the scorching sun.

Suddenly, the ?Ranchi Rambo? was put on the backburner as the crowds spotted Irfan Pathan. The all-rounder waved at them, and lo, the girls went mad with happiness, and screams of course.

Swing this way, please

The Central Gurudwara Committee plans to felicitate the Indian ?king of spin? in traditional style at the Sakchi gurudwara tomorrow. Though JSCA is yet to give its nod, the committee members are praying hard for a positive response.

?We are open to his visit (to the committee?s function) tomorrow or one day before the team departs for Indore. We are hoping that he will visit either before the match or after the day?s play,? said Sardar Shailendra Singh, president of the Central Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee.