Australia Face World No. 1 India in Mohali

Mohali: Ricky Ponting's men will on Friday begin their warm-up to the coming Ashes series with arguably the toughest assignment in Test cricket, world No.1 India on the subcontinent.

With the first Test in Mohali starting on Friday, most Australians would be thinking more about the series against England that starts in late November, especially this week leading up to Saturday's AFL Grand Final Replay and the NRL Grand Final on Sunday.

But for Ponting and his players the small matter of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, which India holds after prevailing 2-0 on home soil two years ago, will have been foremost in their thoughts in recent times as they seek to emulate what Australia achieved in India six years ago.

That team, led by Adam Gilchrist after Ponting missed much of the series through injury, conquered what it had labelled 'the final frontier' as the then world No.1 side had beaten every other team in world cricket away from home, except for India.

They famously came close in 2001 when they led 1-0 and forced India to follow on in the second Test, only to be undone by VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's amazing fightback before the third Test was decided by just a couple of wickets with the hosts chasing a small fourth-innings target.

But having finally prevailed three years after that when Australia were at their best, winning 2-1 despite dropping the final game when chasing just over 100 on a deck Michael Clarke had taken 6-9 on, the changing of the guard in recent seasons has meant that feat has not yet been repeated.

The major difference this time around is that India goes in as the world's leading Test nation and with a balanced line-up, its batting order headed by the bull-at-a-gate Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar and the bowling spearheaded by Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma.

Sehwag (knee) and fellow opener Gautam Gambhir (hand) are both set to play despite having been in doubt as is spinner Harbhajan Singh (side), while Dravid, Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar will all look forward to renewing hostilities with Australia.

Ponting's team is nowhere near as settled though with regular keeper Brad Haddin absent as he gets set for a comeback in state cricket following elbow problems while Doug Bollinger is no certainty to play after arriving late from South Africa with Mike Hussey after the Champions League Twenty20.

Ben Hilfenhaus has made a successful return from knee problems that ruined his last southern hemisphere summer and Mitchell Johnson will be called upon to help lead the attack while Peter George will get the nod if Bollinger is deemed unready for the rigours of a Test.

Shane Watson's dual hundreds in last week's tour match will have him brimming with confidence while Marcus North will be hoping to maintain the form that saw him also reach three figures, having endured a lean run in the past 18 months.

While India is the top team currently in the rankings Ponting and his team will be confident they can knock the home side off on its own turf but the fact that India are playing in their own conditions means they should start as favourites.
 
Team from

India: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Murali Vijay, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Doug Bollinger, Peter George, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Phillip Hughes, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Simon Katich, Marcus North, Tim Paine (wk), Steven Smith, Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc

Pitch and conditions
The Australians spotted a tinge of green on the pitch after heavy rain in Mohali, adding to the likelihood they would play just one specialist spinner. However, there is a chance the normally quick surface might play a little slower than usual due to the weather. It was here two years ago that Peter Siddle announced himself by thumping Gautam Gambhir on the helmet with his first ball in Test cricket.

Stats and trivia

• Over the last ten years, Australia have lost more Tests to India than they have won. India are the only team that can boast of this record over Australia for the decade
• During that period, Australia are the only team to have beaten India in a series at home
• No bowler has dismissed Ricky Ponting more times in Test cricket than Harbhajan Singh, who has claimed his wicket on 10 occasions
• With the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan is now the leading wicket-taker among active Test spinners, with 357

Match facts
October 1-5, 2010
Start time 9:30 local (04:00 GMT)