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India vs Australia, 2nd Test: Preview

After the draw at Bangalore, India and Australia lock horns at the PCA Stadium in Mohali where they will both try and press home the advantages they gained in the first test.

Ricky Ponting will be mighty pleased with the way things went in the last match though he would have still liked to come out with a win. But the effort from his team holds promise for the rest of the series if they get good wickets. They batted India out of the match and then withstood their spinners in the second innings too. Their bowlers also did a good job dismissing the Indian batsmen in the first essay but for the heroics of the Indian bowlers had almost sealed the match then and there.

Stuart Clark will be missing out due to a bowling arm injury he picked up in the previous game and thus Peter Siddle will be making his test debut.

India will be riding high on confidence as they managed to draw the match inspite of lagging for the most part and thus will look to begin afresh. For that however they need to change a lot of things, maybe beginning right at the top. Anil Kumble is still in doubt for the test and will undergo a quick test on the morning itself. If he doesn’t play, the Indians will want to go in with three seamers but the Mohali pitch looks dry which could mean that Amit Mishra might debut in place of Munaf playing. Also, in this scenario, MS Dhoni would be leading the team.

If not, Kumble needs to find his feet rather quickly otherwise it will again affect his captaincy and the team as a result. Amongst other problems is the fielding which is leaking too many runs, although it now seems that the batting is slowly returning to its groove.

All this surely sets up another intriguing battle between two equal teams!

Tags: Australia, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008, India