Mumbai and Australia step into the tour opener at the historic Brabourne Stadium tomorrow with the promise of selection surprises in store.
Australian coach John Buchanan said his team is yet to sort out a few issues before deciding on the final eleven.
"One of the things we are working out is who will play number three in the batting order," Buchanan said after a morning net session at the ground. The slot is normally occupied by Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who is absent with a finger injury. Ponting will also miss the first Test in Bangalore.
"We also haven't decided whether Shane Warne will be picked in the final squad," Buchanan said.
The worry about Warne is but natural. The burly leg-spinner, who has bamboozled most of the world, hasn't exactly enjoyed bowling to Mumbai at the Brabourne. He was able to make an impression only in the second innings of the 2001 game, with a haul of seven wickets for 56 runs. In the game against Mumbai in 1998 he went wicketless and was smashed around for 111 runs off a mere 16 overs as Sachin Tendulkar raced to his first first-class double century.
Though the Brabourne pitch assists the faster bowlers early on, spinners have been able to extract turn from the second day onwards.
Darren Lehmann, who has been named vice-captain for the first Test, with Adam Gilchrist deputizing for Ponting, will also not play the game. He only arrives in Mumbai tomorrow morning.
"It would have been preferable to have Lehmann here," Buchanan admitted. "We would have liked him to get into the groove before going into the Test series. But we are not too uncomfortable otherwise."
The coach said the faster bowlers had already adjusted to the conditions in India. "They did struggle to start with," he said, "and they will continue to struggle throughout the full series. [But] we'll be able to manage that."
Meanwhile, Mumbai, the Ranji champions, are looking to "shock" the Aussies with a few selectoral decisions.
Team vice-captain Vinod Kambli said the match would be an opportunity for the batsmen, who have been in ordinary form, to regain their touch and confidence. "This is especially true for young batsmen like Bhavin Thakkar and Vinit Indulkar," the veteran said. "If they get runs against the best team in the world, they can take that confidence into the new season."
This will be a crucial game for quick bowler Ajit Agarkar who is pushing for a place in the Indian side with Lakshmipathy Balaji out through injury. Agarkar agreed that the game would be a "great opportunity to stay in the reckoning".
The game, thus, will be a chance for the Australians to gain some confidence and match practice for the big series ahead. For the Mumbai boys, it is a chance to put the brakes on the Aussie juggernaut and do their bit for the country once again.
Australia (from): Adam Gilchrist (c), Michael Clarke, Jason Gillespie, Matthew Hayden, Nathan Hauritz, Simon Katich, Michael Kasprowicz, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Justin Langer, Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Shane Watson, Cameron White, Brad Hodge.
Mumbai (from): Sairaj Bahutule (c), Vinod Kambli (v-c), Ajit Agarkar, Vinayak Mane, Wasim Jaffer, Bhavin Thakkar, Amol Muzumdar, Vinayak Samant (wk), Vinit Indulkar, Ramesh Powar, Aavishkar Salvi, Swapnil Hazare, Nilesh Kulkarni, Robin Morris, Santosh Shinde, Rohit Sharma.
Umpires: K Hariharan and T K Handu
Also See: Aussies ready for Sachin
