Ganguly's BP XI in for stern test against Aussies

Sourav Ganguly is in for a rather unusual and stern test. The Indian skipper, who is leading the Board President's XI side is treading a fine line. By opting to play the game starting tomorrow at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Ganguly gives the Australians yet another chance to have a go at the him. The Australians are known for their uncompromising attitude. They will be keen to go after the Indian captain and unsettle him before the second Test match which will be played at Kolkata from March 11.

Ganguly has made it amply clear that he has elected to play the three day game only to regain some much needed confidence. However, the Australians will do all they can to prevent this. There are two possible ways they can approach this. First, have their pacemen pepper Ganguly with short pitched stuff that is headed straight for his ribs. The Bengal southpaw has always been weak against that line of attack and is sure to be in some discomfort. This could rattle the captain up sufficiently.

Alternatively, the Aussie could leave out their spearheads - Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne. After doing so, they could bowl their part time bowlers - Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and the like. In doing so, Ganguly would be well and truly denied match practice of the highest quality. Lulled into a sense of complacency, Ganguly might well commit the same mistakes in the coming Test matches.

But then again, the coming encounter is not about Ganguly alone. Narendra Hirwani called his comeback a 'rebirth,' but had to sit out the first Test. The two spinners in that game, Rahul Sanghvi and Harbhajan Singh did not catch the eye. With the team for the remaining two Tests being announced on the second day of the three day game, all eyes will be on Hirwani.

Of the remaining players, Sridharan Sriram, Vijay Dahiya and Sharandeep Singh have been in the Indian team recently. Others, including Mohammed Kaif, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who seems a permanent fixture in all Board President's XI sides and Jacob Martin will be keen to catch the selectors' eye for future reference at least.

For the Australians, the one confirmed change is in the keepers' slot. Young Bradley Haddin of New South Wales gets a look in as Adam Gilchrist is carrying a niggling hip injury. Haddin, an aggressive keeper bat, will get a chance to peddle his wares in Indian conditions. However, this is not new to the lad. Haddin was down in India with an Australian Academy team earlier in his career.

After playing some dominating cricket in the first Test, the Australians decided to take a bit of time off before the tour game. Two days before the game, a group of Aussie cricketers, not all, turned up at the Feroz Shah Kotla for some practice. The day before the game, the Aussies were off sightseeing. After all, no trip to India is complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal or not, the Aussies will be set to continue their winning ways. They would not want to lose their momentum. With the Indian captain playing, that will give the visitors an added edge.

The teams (from): Australians: Steve Waugh (capt), Michael Slater, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Damien Martyn, Mark Waugh, Justin Langer, Colin Miller, Shane Warne, Damien Fleming, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath, Brad Haddin.

Board President's XI: Sourav Ganguly (capt), Vijay Dahiya, Vinayak Mane, Gautam Gambhir, JP Yadav, Mohammed Kaif, Jacob Martin, Dinesh Mongia, S Sriram, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Narendra Hirwani, Rashid Patel, Surendra Singh, Sarandeep Singh

Umpires: Sanjeev Rao (Indore), Subroto Banerjee (Kolkata).