7 (NNN): India has named a four-member squad for the first-ever snooker Test series against neighbouring Pakistan scheduled to be held here in December this year.
As per a communication from P N Roy, President, Billiards and Snooker Federation of India (BSFI), their country will be represented by Pankaj Advani, Yasin Merchant, Alok Kumar and Manan Chandra while Michael Ferreira will be the manager of the team.
The proposed Pakistan-India Challenge Snooker Test series is set to take off with the inaugural event to be staged here from December 16 to 20.
Ali Asghar Valika, President, Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), has welcomed the communication from his Indian counterpart, expressing the hope that the proposed series will take place at the scheduled dates.
"India has named a strong team for the series against Pakistan.
"They would certainly give our leading cueists a run for their money.
It should be a closely contested series," Valika thought.
Yasin Merchant, who won the Asian Championship here a couple of years ago, had then claimed the gold medal in the singles event of Asian Games at Busan, South Korea, last year.
Manan Chandra and Alok Kumar have fared well in the national and regional tournaments from time to time while the teenaged Pankaj Advani has also looked impressive eversince making his debut for India in the Emarat International Tournament in Dubai last year.
Pakistan's team for the home series against India will be selected at a later stage and it was not necessary that the top four cueists in the national rankings would be invited to take part in the series.
"The topranked cueists are selected automatically only for the Asian Championships and the World Championships by the PBSA.
"For any other event we are entitled to form a selection committee to do the job," the PBSA president explained.
He 's confident the Indo-Pak snooker series will open the door for further sporting contacts between the two neighbouring countries.
AKASH CHOPRA, BALAJI TO MAKE THEIR DEBUT IN 1ST TEST TOMORROW Ahmedabad, Oct.
7 (NNN): Opener Akash Chopra and medium pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji will make their Test debut against New Zealand in the first Test at Ahmedabad tomorrow.
Skipper Sourav Ganguly announced the playing eleven at a press conference in Ahmedabad which left out Yuvraj Singh, Mumbai's medium pacer Aavishkar Salvi and leggie Sairaj Bahutule.
The Indian team will be starting the defence of its home reputation when it takes on New Zealand in the first cricket Test at Ahmedabad tomorrow.
Visiting Skipper Stephen Fleming and his boys are on a mission, but there are doubts if the Sardar Patel wicket here would be of any great assistance to either team.
This wicket has changed its character dramatically since the 1980s.
It has been re-laid and its profile has changed.
What has been noticed is that it tends to get slower and lower as the game progresses.
It also doesn't offer any great assistance to spinners.
It starts off with certain bite to bowlers but on the third and fourth days turns into a sleeping beauty.
It will take some effort to enforce a result on this track but then both New Zealand and India have a new steel in their backs.
The consistency in winning is the real measure to gauge the progress of any team.
The historic home series win against the Australians, Zimbabweans and West Indians and the away Test wins in Zimbabwe, West Indies, Sri Lanka and England and the one-day series wins in West Indies, Nat-West Trophy in England, the ICC Knock-out final and the entry into the final of the most coveted World Cup in South Africa give a proper insight into the ability of the current Indian team.
This paradigm shift from the mixed bag of fortunes to more consistent winning ways, has few telling contributors.
On their own, it might not appear so integral but in tandem they provide an impetus to the side to operate at a required level.
In Indian team, the gap between the seniors and the juniors has shrunk to invisible limits.
Seniority is by experience and not by age.
Seniority means helping the beginners and holding and sharing the experience.
It is amazing how much time the likes of Tendulkars, Dravids and Gangulys spend with juniors.
Sachin has also spent considerable amount of time on my batting as well so I would leave my failures for him to answer !!! It doesn't stop Kaif and Yuvraj to tell the seniors to be agile or pull them up for not applying themselves enough.
Such has been the communication, which is bilateral, between the new entrants and seasoned campaigners.
This sort of open forum has brought the team together.
The onus is on the seniors to help graduate a rookie coming from a homogenous state side to a diverse linguistic and regional set-up.
It is the blend of youth and experience, and plenty of hard work, which has made this team produce good results in recent past.
The final of the World Cup was not only a pointer that the team is heading in the right direction but also that there is a fair distance to go.
NZ BRACE FOR TOUGH FIGHT: New Zealand will be braced for a spin backlash from hosts India when they meet in a two-Test series starting on Wednesday.
The world's third-ranked Test side are aiming to achieve what world champions Australia could not achieve in 2001 _ become only the second team to win a Test series in India in nearly 17 years.
Stephen Fleming's side have arrived with valuable inputs on countering slow sub-continent pitches gained from their drawn Test series in Sri Lanka in April.
Fleming led from the front with a brilliant unbeaten 274 for the second highest Test score by a New Zealand batsman in the first Colombo Test, superbly countering champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan to average 188 in the two-Test series.
Kiwis this time face opponents highly motivated to win what has been dubbed the "revenge series".
Indian Team is determined to avenge its rout in a two-Test series in New Zealand late last year, where they lost both the matches inside three days on underprepared pitches.
Only Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid managed Test fifties as India's batting floundered in seam-friendly conditions, a factor which also led to their 5-2 defeat in the one-day series.
Although their seven-wicket win in the Super Six to knock New Zealand out of this year's World Cup was seen as some revenge, most Indian players still regard the business as unfinished.
Captain Saurav Ganguly has warned New Zealand that they would find the going tough against off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and leggie Anil Kumble, both proven match-winners at home.
West Indies showed in 1983 and South Africa, spearheaded by Allan Donald, in 2000, that sheer pace was the best way to overcome India at home.
But New Zealand are without injured strike bowler Shane Bond and all-rounder Chris Cairns, who skipped the tour for personal reasons.
Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram, front-runners to share the new ball, and 21-year-old Ian Butler, struggled during New Zealand's two drawn warm-up games.
In batting, opener Mark Richardson warmed up with a patient unbeaten 128 against India 'A' last week, but middle-order batsmen Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle looked far from assured.
McMillan, who was dropped for the Sri Lanka tour, has not gone past 18 in his last eight Test innings while Astle, who underwent knee and hernia operations in the summer, was out for duck and five against India 'A' last week.
Playing their first Test for almost a year, India are also using the series to prepare for the tough Test tour of Australia at the turn of the year.
They are set to give Delhi opening batsman Akash Chopra his maiden Test cap in Ahmedabad in their continued search for a durable player at the top of the order.
Chopra, highly rated for his fine temperament and shot selection, was chosen after hitting an unbeaten 103 and 66 in the two tour games against the visitors.
The second Test will be played at Mohali from October 16, followed by a one-day triangular series also featuring Australia.
* Following is the Indian squad: 1.
Virender Sehwag 3.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar 5.
Sourav Ganguly (captain) 6.
Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper) 8.
Harbhajan Singh 9.
Lakshmipathy Balaji.
Balaji, Chopra to debut on Wednesday Ahmedabad, Oct 7 (Agencies): Opener Akash Chopra and paceman L Balaji are all set to make their debut as India take on New Zealand in the first Test at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera, here from tomorrow.
The Indian captain Sourav Ganguly who announced the twelve here today said that Sairaj Bahutule and Avishkar Salvi have been left out while Yuvraj Singh will do the twelfth man's duty.
The Indians thus will go into the match with four frontline bowlers and the captain himself, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag doing the fifth bowler's job, Ganguly added.
Meanwhile, the New Zealanders have not yet announced their final eleven with Stephen Fleming saying that they would announce the final eleven only on the morning of the match.
Speaking to newspersons here, Fleming said that they would have a final look at the wicket on the morning of the and then decide the composition of the team.
The Kiwi coach had yesterday said that all 14 players in the squad stand a equal chance of making the playing eleven and everbody would come to know on the final eleven half-an-hour before the match.
The teams: India: Virender Sehwag, Akash Chopra, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly (c), V V S Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, L Balaji, Zaheer Khan.
12th man: Yuvraj Singh.
Coach: John Wright New Zealand: (from) Mark Richardson, Lou Vincent, Stephen Fleming (c), Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Robbie Hart, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Darryl Tuffy, Paul Wiseman, Michael Mason, Richard Jones, Ian Butler.
Coach: Ashley Ross.
Umpires: David Shepperd (England), Rudi Koertzen (South Africa).
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).
Fleming's men brace for spinlash , Oct 7 (Agencies):New Zealand will be braced for a spin backlash from hosts India when they meet in a two-Test series starting on Wednesday.
The world's third-ranked Test side are aiming to achieve what world champions Australia could not achieve in 2001 _ become only the second team to win a Test series in India in nearly 17 years.
Stephen Fleming's side have arrived with valuable inputs on countering slow sub-continent pitches gained from their drawn Test series in Sri Lanka in April.
Fleming led from the front with a brilliant unbeaten 274 for the second highest Test score by a New Zealand batsman in the first Colombo Test, superbly countering champion off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan to average 188 in the two-Test series.
New Zealand this time face opponents highly motivated to win what has been dubbed the "revenge series".
India are determined to avenge their rout in a two-Test series in New Zealand late last year, where they lost both the matches inside three days on underprepared pitches.
Only Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid managed Test fifties as India's batting floundered in seam-friendly conditions, a factor which also led to their 5-2 defeat in the one-day series.
Although their seven-wicket win in the Super Six to knock New Zealand out of this year's World Cup was seen as some revenge, most Indian players still regard the business as unfinished.
India captain Saurav Ganguly has warned New Zealand that they would find the going tough against off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and leggie Anil Kumble, both proven match-winners at home.
SHEER PACE West Indies showed in 1983 and South Africa, spearheaded by Allan Donald, in 2000, that sheer pace was the best way to overcome India at home.
However, New Zealand are without injured strike bowler Shane Bond and all-rounder Chris Cairns, who skipped the tour for personal reasons.
Daryl Tuffey and Jacob Oram, front-runners to share the new ball, and 21-year-old Ian Butler, struggled during New Zealand's two drawn warm-up games.
In batting, opener Mark Richardson warmed up with a patient unbeaten 128 against India 'A' last week, but middle-order batsmen Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle looked far from assured.
McMillan, who was dropped for the Sri Lanka tour, has not gone past 18 in his last eight Test innings while Astle, who underwent knee and hernia operations in the summer, was out for duck and five against India 'A' last week.
Playing their first Test for almost a year, India are also using the series to prepare for the tough Test tour of Australia at the turn of the year.
They are set to give Delhi opening batsman Akash Chopra his maiden Test cap in Ahmedabad in their continued search for a durable player at the top of the order.
The 26-year-old Chopra, highly rated for his fine temperament and shot selection, was chosen after hitting an unbeaten 103 and 66 in the two tour games against the visitors.
The second Test will be played at Mohali from October 16, followed by a one-day triangular series also featuring Australia.
Heidfeld, Frentzen bid Sauber farewell , Oct 7 (Agencies):With ten points scored in Indianapolis Sauber Petronas moved up from ninth to fifth place in the Constructors' World Championship.
In Suzuka the team's efforts will be centred on maintaining this position.
Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "Suzuka is a very challenging track.
Power of the C-spec engine and low drag are crucial on the fastest sections, but there are others that present different demands, because Suzuka is a circuit with many facets to its character.
To go smoothly through the Esses at the start of the lap, the car must have excellent handling balance, while the Spoon Curve and the modified super-challenging 130R corner require high downforce." "The chicane at the end of the lap then registers a different demand: strong braking performance and stability on the entry and excellent mechanical grip and traction on the exit.
The track surface is also quite abrasive, so your choice of tyre compound is also critical." "All of this makes the circuit a great favourite of drivers and engineers alike, because everyone has to rise to the challenge to get the best from the car.
The new qualifying rules will make things even tougher this year, because there are so few overtaking opportunities around the lap.
And because it is so long and tortuous you can lose a lot of time to other cars if you get stuck behind a slower car that you are unable to pass." "After our strong performance in Indianapolis we could be forgiven for hoping for a wet race, but in any case we have made great progress on the aerodynamics since Hungary.
The team is working extremely well, and naturally we are looking forward to scoring more points to maintain our fifth place in the World Championship for Constructors." Nick Heidfeld (65 GPs, 6 points 2003): "Suzuka is my favourite track, but it will be interesting to see how changes to the 130R corner and the chicane have affected its flow.
I think the former may more easily be flat now, but it will still be a very challenging corner.
Just how challenging depends on the level of downforce you are running.
The Esses, too, are special, because you need to make compromises in some sections to make sure you don't spoil others.
It's very satisfying when you get them right." "The fans in Japan are great.
They are very enthusiastic and they seem to lose all their inhibitions as they get into the sport." "Running so strongly during the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis was an uplifting experience that showed the clear potential of the Sauber Petronas C22.
The car was fast and reliable, so naturally I am hoping to score some more points.
I'm really looking forward to the race." Heinz-Harald Frentzen (156 GPs, 13 points 2003): "This year, without Spa on the calendar, Suzuka is my top track, the biggest challenge.
I always look forward to it because it requires a special flow to get a good lap time.
It has some great corners, and the two left-handers (which are really one big long corner) behind the pits are real neck-killers.
You can pull 3.5 to 4g there, for quite a long time.
That's physically very tough." "Others are more technical, like the Spoon Curve or 130R, and the chicane is the only part of the track where you have to brake strongly and don't feel the aerodynamics at work.
It's a good spot for overtaking." "My best memory of Suzuka comes from my first visit in an F1 car, when I qualified third there in 1994 with Sauber.
I was on the podium in 1997.
The fans are very special, and they help to contribute to the atmosphere which always makes it a pleasure to be there.
They have such uncontrolled enthusiasm!" "After the way our new aerodynamics package worked in Indianapolis, and after my podium finish there, I'm sure we can attack when we get to Suzuka.
The US Grand Prix marked the first time a Sauber has led a Grand Prix, and our performance there was a tremendous fillip to the team which has worked so hard throughout the season.
It was a pleasure to help to lift it from ninth to fifth place in the World Championship for Constructors, so I really hope that we can score some more points in Japan." Press Release: Sauber Several probables miss training on opening day NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Agencies): Several probables including former captain Dilip Tirkey and forward Gagan Ajit Singh were among those who missed the first day of the hockey camp at National Stadium here today ahead of the Afro-Asian Games.
Just over a dozen out of 24 of probables attended the training session on the opening day though the chief coach Rajinder Singh said the rest would be reporting for the camp later in the day.
"They could not reach here for various reasons.
Some players could not attend the camp due to a function in Punjab," Rajinder Singh told reporters.
Besides Dilip and Gagan, other notable absentees were Asia Cup hero Ignace Tirkey, Vimal Lakra, Kanwalpreet Singh and Vikram Pillay.
There will be no Dhanraj Pillay or Baljit Singh Dhillon in the camp as the duo has been given rest alongwith five others after India's maiden Asia Cup title win in Malaysia last month.
Rajinder Singh said the senior members' services will be missed though, it will also give the greenhorns an international exposure.
"We will definitely miss the services of senior players.
However, it will also help us prepare the team for the future," Rajinder Singh said.
"Many had requested me personally for a break and this is just to ensure that they don't suffer from fatigue during upcoming tournaments." Rajinder Singh said this time only 16 players would be selected to fulfil national duty in the Afro-Asian Games.
Goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, who did a commendable job during the Champions Trophy as well as the Asia Cup, said the team was determined to perform to its potential to win the gold medal.
"As the hosts, we have a lot of responsibilities to come up with a fine show.
There are quite a few teams in the competition and we need to play really well to win the event," Chauhan said.
Besides India, Asia will be represented by Asian Games winners South Korea, Pakistan and Malaysia in the Afro-Asian Games while South Africa, Egypt, Zimbabwe and Ghana would be in fray from Africa.
Ramesh, Fominyh in joint lead NEW DELHI, Oct 7 (Agencies):Overnight leader R B Ramesh played a quick draw against top seed GM Dmitry Svetushkin of Moldova while Russian GM Alexander Fominyh beat IM Varugeese Koshy to move in to the joint lead at the end of the eighth round in the Parsvnath International Chess tournament here today.
Ramesh and Fominyh, who recorded his fourth straight victory in the Rs three lakh prize money tournament today, now have seven points each and are leading a group of four players _ GM P Harikrisha, Svetushkin, GM S S Ganguly and IM Neelotpal Das - by half a point margin.
On the top board, Ramesh opted for the Queen's defence, popularised by former world champion Anatoly Karpov, and seemed to be in a better position in the middle game.
But the double GM-norm holder played it safe against the "dangerous" Moldavian and agreed for a draw after 23 moves.
Meanwhile, Fominyh continued with his good run to beat the experienced Koshy in 34 moves.
Koshy, who had defeated GM Marat Dhzumaev of Uzbekistan and IM S Kidambi yesterday, played his preferred English opening but was forced to adopt a defensive game as he conceded the centre too early to his opponent.
The Russian GM made good use of the position to nail down Koshy in the rook and minor pieces end game commiting the Indian into a premature resignation.
Youngest Commonwealth champion P Harikrishna was not at his best against IM Neelotpal Das and agreed to a draw in 30 moves to maintain his second spot.
Meanwhile, Asian Women's champion Koneru Humpy had something to cheer about as she defeated Dushyant Das to reverse the trend of defeats she suffered yesterday.
The Andhra girl had lost both her matches against lesser known opponents yesterday, virtually nulifying her title chances.
Important Eighth Round Results (All Indian unless specified otherwise): Dmitry Svetushkin (MDA) 6.5 drew R B Ramesh 7.0, Neelotpal Das 6.5 drew P Harikrishna 6.5, Varugeese Koshy 6.0 lost to Alexander Fominyh (RUS) 7.0, Jonathan Rowson (SCO) 6.0 drew Lanka Ravi 6.0, S S Ganguly 6.5 beat Shashikant Kutwal 5.5, P Konguvel 6.0 drew S Ovestivitij (UKR) 6.0, Niaz Murshed (BAN) 6.0 drew Sriram Jha 6, Tahir Vakhidov (UZB) 6.0 beat R Balasubramaniam 5.5, Abhijeet Kunte 5.5 drew Aarthie Ramaswamy 5.5, Gurpreetpal Singh 5.0 lost to S Iuldachev (UZB) 6.0, P D S Girinath 5 lost to Marat Dzhumaev (UXB) 6.0, K Rathnakaran 5.5 drew S Kidambi 5.5, Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury 6.0 beat Rishipal Singh 5.0, M B Muralidhran 6.0 beat C S Gokhale 5.0, Nisha Mohota 5.0 lost to Prathmesh Mokal 6.0, Abhijeet Gupta 5.5 drew Vishal Sareen 5.5, Tania Sachdev 5 drew G B Joshi 5.
Agassi, Steffi have second child Germany, Oct 7 (Agencies):Steffi Graf, married to another tennis legend Andre Agassi, has given birth to her second child, a girl named Jazz, a spokesman for her communication agency said on Monday.
The child was born on Friday in Las Vegas and there had been no complications, the spokesman added, though the child had been expected in mid-November.
The 33-year-old Agassi and Graf, a year older, already have a son called Jaden Gil who will be two years old later this month.
Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam titles, married Agassi in October 2001 after retiring in 1999 following her sixth win at the the French Open.
Agassi, the oldest world number one earlier this year and currently at number four, is one of only five men to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles - Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
It's revenge time for India AHMEDABAD, Oct 7 (Agencies): Revenge will be the key word for the Indians as they launch a new cricketing season with a couple of fresh faces, seeking to settle an old score against New Zealand in the first Test of the two-match series beginning here tomorrow.
A long break from the game has left the Indians hungry for success as they go into the home series as favourites, but captain Sourav Ganguly has warned his teammates not to be complacent against the Kiwis who are determined to record their first Test series win on Indian soil.
India's humiliating defeats on seamer-friendly tracks during their tour of New Zealand late last year has raised speculation of a tit-for-tat response from the hosts who have an impressive track record at home.
Though both captain Ganguly and coach John Wright have played down the grudge factor, they would be keen to turn the tables on New Zealand who find conquering India in their own den a tougher challenge than playing Australia.
"We did not win the series in New Zealand when we toured there last year.
But we managed to beat them in the World Cup.
So things are now even," Ganguly said.
But New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming is fully aware of the challeneges in store for his team in the first Test.
"We anticipate turning wickets in India.
We need to apply ourselves well.
It's going to be a great challenge.
The match will see opener Akash Chopra and paceman Laxmipathy Balaji making their debut for India.
The home team, which will be going in with a new pair of opening batsmen in Virender Sehwag and Chopra, has a very impressive batting line-up which could prove quite a handful for the visitors, particularly in Indian conditions.
The team boasts of the best batsman in the world in Sachin Tendulkar, who would be itching to score his 32nd Test hundred that will put him on par with Aussie skipper Steve Waugh and take him a step closer to legendary Sunil Gavaskar's world record of 34 centuries.
At one drop, the hosts have one of the most solid batsmen in contemporary cricket in Rahul Dravid, who time and again comes up with important knocks when the chips are down followed by Tendulkar in the number four position.
The skipper himself is slated to come at number five position, though he is short of a big Test score for quite some time now and this could be the ideal time for him to strike form before the bigger challenges ahead like the tour to Australia later this year.
V V S Laxman, who turned the tables on the formidable Aussies during their tour of India a couple of years ago with a majestic 281, will be playing tomorrow leaving young Yuvraj Singh to wait for his first Test cap.
The stylish Hyderabad batsman has a lot to prove and would be raring to go all out while local lad and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel is all set to play his first Test match on his home turf.
The hosts will go in with two spinners _ leggie Anil Kumble, who needs just three more wickets to become the second Indian bowler to take 350 or more Test wickets behind former India skipper Kapil Dev, and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was instrumental in destroying the formidable Aussie batting line-up in 2000.
The new ball attack would be shared by left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan and Balaji, who was preferred over Avishkar Salvi for his nagging accuracy and control over the ball.
Salvi, Yuvraj Singh and the second leg spinner in the side Sairaj Bahutule will cool their heels on the reserves bench.
The visitors, who will be annoucning their final XI tomorrow, have a major problem on their hand with their frontline batsmen, including Fleming and consistent performers Nathan Astle and Scott Styris, failing cheaply in both the innings of the Rajkot three-day tie against India 'A'.
However, opening batsman Mark Richardson and all-rounder Jacob Oram, struck form slamming confidence-boosting hundreds and their coach Ashley Ross was optimistic that the other batsmen would be among runs during the Test match.
Though the other opening batsman Lou Vincent and the dangerous Craig McMillan failed in the first innings at Rajkot, they managed to hold the innings together in the second essay when the visitors were reduced to 39 for four.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Robbie Hart was quite impressive behind the wicket but proved technically inadequate while facing the only India 'A' spinner Murali Kartik in Rajkot.
India hold clear edge over Kiwis Ahmedabad, Oct 7 (Agencies):The Indians hold a clear edge over New Zealand when the two clash in the first of the two Test matches at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera from tomorrow.
The Indians, who will be going in with a new pair of opening batsmen in dashing Virendra Sehwag and debutant Akash Chopra, have a very impressive batting line-up and the best of bowling sides in the world, including world champions Australia, who have found it difficult to dislodge them.
The team led by southpaw, Sourav Ganguly, boasts of the best batsman in the world in Sachin Tendulkar, who would be itching to score his 32nd Test hundred which will put him on par with Aussie skipper Steve Waugh, who had overtaken the Mumbai star recently.
The highest number of Test hundreds is held by another Indian Sunil Gavaskar (34 centuries).
At one drop, the hosts have one of the most solid batsmen in contemporary cricket in Rahul Dravid, the Wall, who has time and again come up with important knocks when the chips are down followed by Tendulkar in the number four position.
The skipper himself is slated to come at number five position, though he is short of a big Test score for some time and this could be the ideal time for him to strike form before the bigger challenges ahead like the tour to Australia soon after the on-going home series.
V V S Laxman, who turned the tables on formidable Aussies during their tour of India a couple of years ago with a majestic 281, has a lot to prove and would be raring to go while local lad and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel is all set to play his first Test match on his home turf.
The hosts are likely to go in with two spinners _ leggie Anil Kumble, who needs just three more wickets to become the second Indian bowler to take 350 or more Test wickets behind former India skipper Kapil Dev, and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who was instrumental in destroying the formidable Aussie batting line-up in 2000.
The new ball attack too has a couple of new faces in Mumbai speedster Avishkar Salvi and Tamil Nadu paceman Laxmipathi Balaji apart from the experienced left arm seamer Zaheer Khan.
With the Indian think-tank likely to opt for seven batsmen, including a wicketkeeper, and four bowlers either Salvi or Balaji could make it to the playing eleven.
Salvi has a slight edge over Balaji due to his consistent performanc in the past year or so during his stint with India-A team.
Balaji, left handed batsman Yuvraj Singh and the second leg spinner in the side Sairaj Bahutule might find themsleves on the reserves bench.
ICC to review Hall-Youhana spat on video LONDON, Oct 7 (Agencies):The International Cricket Council (ICC) will scan the footage of the unruly incident involving South Africa's Andrew Hall and Pakistan bastman Yousuf Youhana during the second one-day international before deciding on laying any charges against the two.
The match, which Pakistan won to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, saw Youhana and Hall in an on-field spat.
Television replays suggested Hall hitting Youhana with his elbow as the Pakistani passed him to complete a run.
The ICC took note of the incident but is waiting for a full report from the match officials and footage of the incident before deciding on any charges under its Code of Conduct, Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said in a statement.
"Before taking any decision it is important that the ICC is able to obtain the facts and view footage of the incident," Speed said on Monday.
A video of the incident has been requested as a matter of urgency, he said, adding "it will be with us by close of business on Wednesday night.
Once it is received, we will be in a better position to determine what, if any, action should be taken." Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board said it would not officially register a complaint about the incident.
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