Indian Board President's XI v Australia at Hyderabad (Decc) - Oct 2-5, 2008

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Australian spin exposed AUSTRALIA'S slow-bowling frailty was laid bare by punishing centuries from Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the Indian Board President's XI strode to 6-371 at stumps on day one in Hyderabad. Sharma (105), teenager Kohli (105) and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel (49no) were ruthless in their treatment of finger spinner Jason Krejza (0-123), who is the only fit tweaker the tourists have in India following Bryce McGain's aggravation of a shoulder strain. Krejza had looked promising in the lead-up to this match, pouching three wickets in last weekend's scratch fixture against the Rajasthan Academy. But the realisation he could be a few days away from a surprise Test debut must have weighed heavily as he struggled to attack or even contain Sharma, 21, and Kohli, 19, at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. His only consolation was the fact that figures of 20-1-123-0 were not quite as bad as Shane Warne's 16-1-111-0 when opposed to a Sachin Tendulkar-inspired Mumbai in a warm-up game at the Brabourne Stadium in 1998. Left-armer Mitchell Johnson has been under pressure to keep his spot but he took 3-62 and was the best of the Australian attack, generating decent pace, bounce and a little swing. Australia's pacemen had claimed the early honours by reducing the home side to 3-80 at lunch, with Peter Siddle (1-41) striking a useful psychological blow for tourists by pinning Indian squad inclusion S Badrinath lbw for two. But Krejza's jittery start helped undo that work, and the tourists may now be forced to consider an all-pace attack, spiced with Michael Clarke's slow left-arm, for the first Test in Bangalore next week. The Australians were setback before play by allrounder Shane Watson's failure to overcome a virus, and he was confined to bed at the team hotel when Board XI captain Yuvraj Singh won the toss and chose to bat first. Phil Jaques was the surprise omission from the team, meaning his NSW teammate Simon Katich will almost certainly be Matthew Hayden's opening partner in Bangalore. Yuvraj's innings of 29 ended badly when he flinched at a short ball and lobbed a simple catch to gully - a shot that confirmed why the talented left-hander was not chosen in the squad for the first Test. By contrast, Sharma stood up to the quicks' examination before unleashing on Krejza and Clarke either side of tea, only being stopped by the return of Johnson when an attempted pull shot sailed to Krejza at square leg. Kohli reached his century with a perfect cover drive from Lee, but the bowler gained some revenge when he won a questionable lbw verdict in the shadows of stumps. Australian coach Tim Nielsen said Krejza had been wracked by nerves ever since McGain's injury effectively handed him a first Test cap for next week. “He's been pretty nervous over the last couple of days, especially since Bryce hurt his shoulder again so he knew he would play, and he was pretty toey and really keen to do well,†Nielsen said. “I thought he showed a couple of signs, he changed his angles ... he learned about playing cricket in India today, if you're not quite right you're going to get hurt badly. “The biggest thing he can work on is trying to reduce the number of boundaries he goes for during the day. As soon as he goes for those boundaries it puts the pressure on him.†Nielsen did not think the tourists would now be forced to consider an all-pace attack for the Test series. “I would doubt it. I still believe (Krejza) wasn't quite as bad as the figures showed,†he said. “I thought he bowled with some nerves early on and copped some early grief, a few sixes and fours that put him under pressure right from the start. “But by the end of the day I thought he created a couple of chances. If he'd taken a couple of wickets it might have changed the whole day for him.†Nielsen said Watson's condition was improving and expected him to be available for duty in Bangalore.

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BP XI vs Aus, Day 2 : Hussey keeps Australians afloat Martin Williamson looks back on the tempestuous end to Australia's wretched tour of Pakistan in 1982-83. More... Indian Board President's XI v Australians, Hyderabad, 2nd day Hussey keeps Australians afloat The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Hyderabad October 3, 2008 Australians 191 for 4 (Hussey 54) trail Board President's XI 455 (Sharma 105, Kohli 105, Patel 62, Pathan 56, Johnson 4-75) by 264 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out Piyush Chawla was the pick of the Board President's XI bowlers, undoing Ricky Ponting with a googly and then trapping Michael Clarke leg-before © AFP The Australian machine continued to splutter for the second day in Hyderabad. If Jason Krejza had a nightmarish first day, the Australian batsmen, led by Ricky Ponting, stumbled on more problems today. Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin, however, stitched together an unbroken 63-run partnership to ensure the Indians didn't have it too easy. The tale of the day was best captured by Ponting's struggles against legspinner Piyush Chawla in the second session. It got off to a familiar start: crease-bound, he pushed out his bat tentatively. He picked the googlies dangerously late, mistook the sliders for legbreaks and, as a result, often played with the bat facing cover and saw the ball rolling away off the inside edge. Chawla offered Ponting a brief respite with a long-hop and an over-pitched delivery, which were hit for fours, but won the battle with a fizzing googly that found the yawning gap between bat and pad. Ponting had lunged forward to play for the legspin but lost his middle stump. Michael Hussey and Brad Haddin, who used his feet well to counter the spinners, stitched together an unbroken 63-run partnership to ensure the Indians didn't have it too easy but the rest of the top order didn't fare well. Manpreet Gony's accuracy and subtle movement troubled Hayden, who is coming out of an injury break. He searched for the ball twice outside off and was hit on the pad by one that came back into the left-hander. Irfan Pathan too had a close lbw shout against Hayden when he got one to straighten on off stump and had the batsman playing around his front pad. However, he got his man in the next over when he curved a delivery past Hayden and got a faint edge. The visitors' troubles continued after the fast bowlers gave way to the spinners. Surprisingly, it involved two men who are generally good players of spin. Katich was surprised by the fuller trajectory from Pragyan Ojha and lunged forward to offer a bat-pad catch to Virat Kohli at short leg. Michael Clark pushed his bat outside the line and was trapped in front by a leg break that turned slightly from the leg-and-middle line. The Australians had a marginally better morning session. They tried to work on their reverse swing by not taking the new ball till the 105th over - the 16th of the second day. Lee, in particular, got the ball to move and one delivery to Pathan stood out: bowling from over the wicket, he curved the ball sharply from middle and off towards leg and hit Pathan on the pad. Pathan, however, used a simple technique to offer stiff resistance. He tried not to get the front leg in the way of the ball even if it meant playing away from his body. The wagon wheel was also revealing: most of the runs in the session came behind square on both sides. The innings ended in hurry once the new ball was taken but the joy was shortlived for the visitors. By the end of the day, they were left licking their old wounds against spin in Indian conditions.

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Spin-pric-ked Aussies Medium pacers and spinners alike pushed the Aussies onto the back foot as Board President's XI took the honours for the second day. At close Aus were 191 for 4, trailing by 264 runs. Anand Vasu reports. More... Spin-*****ed Aussies Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times Hyderabad, October 03, 2008 First Published: 22:35 IST(3/10/2008) Last Updated: 00:18 IST(4/10/2008) While the lone Australian specialist spinner's struggle on the first day was somewhat along the expected lines, the manner in which their batsmen — save the hardworking Michael Hussey — failed to dominate a second string Indian bowling attack has raised eyebrows. Medium pacers and spinners alike pushed the Australians onto the back foot and it was the Board President's XI who took the honours for the second consecutive day. The Australians, who ended on 191 for 4, still trail by 264 with two days remaining in this match. Before that, the BP XI had extended their first-innings score to a healthy 455. Irfan Pathan, who has been nowhere near his best in the recent past, bowling at a rather friendly pace, began the rot. The delivery with which he got Matthew Hayden, a swinging ball that left the bat thanks to a perfectly delivered seam, was in just the perfect area. Pathan's celebration when Parthiv Patel pouched the catch was a bit over the top, but given how brutally Hayden has destroyed bowlers in the past, Pathan included, you could forgive him. For a time Simon Katich, set to open in the first Test ahead of Phil Jaques, and Ricky Ponting, began to gain control of the proceedings, but that was only because Manpreet Gony was off the boil and Pathan tiring. When spin came on in the form of local left-armer Pragyan Ojha, the doubts returned and an indecisive prod put an end to Katich's vigil. Ojha pushed one through a bit quicker and all Katich could do was edge to short leg via the pad. Then came a passage of play that summed up the match so far in many ways. Piyush Chawla, tossing his leg-breaks up and getting serious revolutions on his googlies, put doubts in Ponting's head. Unsure of which way the ball would turn, or how much, Ponting defended with hard hands and drove half-heartedly, repeatedly spearing the ball off the inside edge. But the Australian captain is one of the best batsmen in the world, his average of just over 12 in India notwithstanding. Ponting counter-attacked, coming down the pitch and making clean contact with lofted hits back over the bowler's head. A couple of sixes later Ponting seemed a different batsman, and was settling down nicely when Chawla coaxed a lunging drive to a googly that drifted nicely to draw bat away from pad and then spun back to slip into the gap created, uprooting the middle stump. Ponting had made 41 in good time, but that he could be foxed so easily by a 20-year-old leggie still learning his trade should have Harbhajan Singh licking his lips in anticipation. Even as Ponting fell on the stroke of tea, Michael Clarke was in the practice nets just outside the ground, warming up with some throw downs. When he walked out to the middle, though, his usually twinkle-toed footwork failed him and a Chawla legbreak that pitched in line and turned ever so slightly trapped him in front. At 128 for 4, the Australians were in danger of squandering another of their critical match practice days. Hussey however ensured that all was not lost, batting with discipline and care, ensuring that he spent a long time at the crease, ending the day unbeaten on 54. Brad Haddin, who took a more aggressive approach will have an opportunity on Saturday to build on his 34. After batsmen, bowlers trouble Ponting and Co.

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Hussey and Chawla star on tense day An unbeaten century from Michael Hussey and a 96-run stand for the last wicket with Stuart Clark saved Australia the ignominy of having to follow-on against the Board President's XI. More... Indian Board President's XI v Australians, Hyderabad, 3rd day Hussey and Chawla star on tense day The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Hyderabad October 4, 2008 Board President's XI 110 for 2 (Jaffer 46*, Yuvraj 37*) and 455 lead Australians 314 (Hussey 126*, Chawla 5-76) by 251 runs Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out A last-wicket stand of 96 between Stuart Clark and Michael Hussey helped the Australians avert the follow-on © AFP It was a day of contrasting halves. The Australians lost five wickets for 27 runs in the morning session before Michael Hussey and Stuart Clark defied the Board President's XI for more than 40 overs and added 96 runs for the final wicket to save the follow-on. Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha threatened to trample them but the last-wicket partnership allowed the tourists to reduce the first-innings deficit to 141. Brett Lee and Clark bowled probing spells to pick up two quick wickets before Wasim Jaffer and Yuvraj Singh began the repair work with an unbroken 75-run partnership. Hussey and Clark ensured another valuable match-day's practice was not wasted. Hussey's ability to read the variations allowed him to play the ball late and he got into comfortable positions with precise footwork to execute the sweep and the cut. He scored 95 of his 126 runs square of the pitch. Clark, the batsman, was a surprise. He used his height to lean forward and smother the spin on a slowing pitch. After growing in confidence, he even struck Chawla and Ojha for straight sixes. His resistance prompted Yuvraj to take the new ball but the fast bowlers couldn't separate the pair either. Yuvraj brought himself on and Clark was eventually caught at midwicket. The application with which Hussey and Clark batted was lacking earlier in the day when the Australians' struggle against spin continued. It took Ojha four balls to remove Brad Haddin, who used his feet effectively against the spinners last evening. Haddin had attempted to charge Ojha's third ball but changed his mind. Sensing he might try it again, Ojha shortened the length and turned the ball away from the right-hander, leaving Haddin stranded outside his crease. In his next over Ojha skidded one through to Jason Krejza and induced an edge to first slip. Irfan Pathan, who opened the bowling, was taken out of the attack as Yuvraj deployed spinners at both ends. Chawla beat Lee's attempted sweep with a full ball in his first over and later broke Mitchell Johnson's resistance with a googly delivered from round the stumps. He completed his five-for with another googly, which won him an lbw verdict even though the ball struck Peter Siddle outside the line of off stump. The Australians were struggling at 218 for 9 but Hussey and Clark slowly took them out of trouble. The Indians too got off to a shaky start. Aakash Chopra couldn't escape a shooter from Clark and S Badrinath edged an attempted upper cut. The pitch too had begun to change character in the last session. Clark welcomed Badrinath with a nasty lifter from short of a length after Chopra was done in by the lack of bounce from the same spot. Badrinath, who was guilty of going into a shell in his recent failures, started promisingly today. He was tested with bouncers and full deliveries but he coped well and even hit a pleasing square drive and a straight drive for fours. However, he fell trying to guide a Lee lifter over slips. Jaffer and Yuvraj too were beaten a few times but they managed to get over that phase by playing as close to the body as possible. Both resisted their natural urge to drive and accumulated a majority of their runs behind square. Though both helped themselves to couple of boundaries against Michael Clarke they were patient against Krejza. It was, after all, the mantra that allowed the Australians to get out of jail in the morning.

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Yuvraj and Jaffer shine in draw Yuvraj's side claimed a moral victory in the drawn match today after Australian bowlers were pounded by Yuvraj and Jaffer. More... Indian Board President's XI v Australians, Hyderabad, 4th day Yuvraj and Jaffer shine in draw The Bulletin by Sriram Veera in Hyderabad October 5, 2008 Board President's XI 455 (Rohit 105, Kohli 105) and 292 for 4 dec (Yuvraj 113, Jaffer 93) drew with Australians 314 (Hussey 126*, Chawla 5-89) and 127 for 2 (Ponting 58*) Scorecard and ball-by-ball details How they were out Ricky Ponting's unbeaten 58 will give him some confidence ahead of the Tests against India © AFP Ricky Ponting hit a crucial fifty and Michael Clarke made an assured 36, but the Australians will leave Hyderabad with more questions than answers. Their bowlers once again were second-best; Board President's XI set the Australians an impossible target of 434 by declaring 47 minutes after lunch. Yuvraj Singh played a vital role in building BP XI's formidable lead, scoring an entertaining hundred, while Wasim Jaffer contributed 93. For the visitors, the important phase of the day was Ponting's batting against spin, especially Piyush Chawla, who had knocked him out in spectacular fashion in the first innings. It was a technical draw. Ponting laced a cover drive early in the contest but was beaten a couple of times when he tried to cut. Tea intervened, and as it happened Ponting then didn't face Chawla much: at one point of time he had played only four deliveries from Chawla as compared to the 28 against Pragyan Ojha and Yuvraj. Ponting looked pretty comfortable against Ojha, using his feet and clattering him over long-on a couple of times. Chawla got ten more balls at Ponting, who started to stretch out to defend. Chawla dragged back the length and earned a close lbw shout. Just when the contest got interesting, the game ended in a stalemate. Clarke was his usual self, looking for every opportunity to come down the track to the spinners. He drove and cut well. The openers, though, fell cheaply again: Simon Katich chopped a short delivery straight to point and Matthew Hayden, who had made a cautious start, fell lbw to Chawla. Stuart Clark was Australia's best bowler, dismissing both Yuvraj and Jaffer, but the others, especially offspinner Jason Krejza, struggled. An additional worry was wicketkeeper Brad Haddin's fitness: he left the field after being hit on the glove by a delivery from Clark that kept low. Michael Hussey stood in, and though the team management said Haddin - who had a below-par game, conceding 15 byes - was ready to come back, Yuvraj had declared by then. Yuvraj and Jaffer laid into the Australian attack in the morning and, as a result, BP XI scored 130 runs in 25 overs during the first session. The highlight was Krejza's sixth, and last, over. He had fielders at long-off and mid-on, but Yuvraj chose the high-risk option, lofting a full ball over long-off before sweeping the next for four more. He dispatched another flighted delivery over the bowler's head for six before giving the strike to Jaffer, who also hit Krejza over mid-off for four. Krezja's over cost 21 and his figures read 11-1-76-0. Yuvraj started quietly last evening and did the same this morning. He scored only five runs off his first 19 balls before breaking free with a perfectly-timed straight drive off Brett Lee. He brought up his half-century by lifting Krejza over the extra-cover boundary in the next over, and continued to accelerate. His second 50 took only 44 balls, and he reached his hundred by pulling Clarke powerfully over deep midwicket. Yuvraj's eye-catching timing overshadowed Jaffer, who also began cautiously on the final day. He was squared up by the fast bowlers a few times but had an over to remember against Peter Siddle. He opened the face to guide the second ball to the third-man boundary, pierced the infield at point off the fifth, and drove the final ball straight for four. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli batted without any trouble and added 52 before Yuvraj decided to declare. The Australians will be happy that he did as Ponting and Clarke got some runs ahead of the Test series, which starts in Bangalore on October 9.