Three-day games necessarily serve as warm-ups for bigger games. But the fixture at the plush Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium starting on Tuesday is more than just a warm-up. It's the last chance for the bunch of hopefuls in the Australia A side to raise their hands for selection into a Test line-up which, till recently, was set in stone.
The tourists' face-saving performance in the second innings in Bangalore will be overshadowed by their first-innings collapse of 116 and had it not been for the poor weather on the opening morning, India A would have claimed a deserving victory.
The Australians are certainly not accustomed to losing, and their coach, Simon Helmot, reiterated several times in his interaction with the media that positive cricket was the best and probably the only way to shock the Indian side out of their comfort zone and push for a win.
An overcautious approach against India's spinners, he felt, exposed the weaknesses in their batting but their improved display after following-on had set an example. "The Australian way is to win and that's what we're here for," Helmot said. "We'll play positively and in our team meeting today, we'll talk only about winning.
"They got on top of us in the first innings. We played more positively against them in the second. The important thing is, in Bangalore, we finished on a high and we'd like to take that momentum into the second game."
S Badrinath, the India A captain, shrugged off the disappointment of not being able to finish off the job in Bangalore, but stressed that the momentum was with his side. "We claimed the moral victory in the first game," Badrinath said. "It's up to us now to continue with that confidence. I thought we did our best there and I rate it as a tremendous effort."
The teams are, unfortunately, strapped for time to push for a result with only three days at their disposal. It begs the question as to why such an important pre-series build-up (to Australia's tour of India next month) was restricted to three-day fixtures, while the touring New Zealand A side have the luxury of four-day games. Helmot, who couldn't hide his disappointment at the scheduling, said it was near impossible to force a result, unless teams adopt an aggressive approach, force early declarations and impose pressure.
More than positive cricket, the conditions will play a critical role on the eventual result. Much like Bangalore, the city has been lashed by evening rains but fortunately, it hasn't interfered too much with the preparation of the pitch. The pitch has a greenish tinge to it but more importantly, the grass will not be shaved off on the morning of the game. The sight of the surface certainly had Helmot gushing, but curiously, the Indians begged to differ.
Badrinath reckoned the batsmen would relish the surface, Parthiv Patel described it as a "batting belter" and Piyush Chawla sniggered - in his own lingo - to two of his fast bowling team-mates, which, roughly translated, meant "you guys are going to get hammered."
It can be easily inferred from those views what each captain would do after winning the toss. The Indians practised first on the eve of the match under overcast skies and if those conditions remain as consistent as the evening rainfall, then Badrinath might have to consider inserting the opposition.
However, careful not to play into Australia's strengths, Badrinath stated that the twelve for tomorrow had three specialist spinners but was non committal on whether all would make the final line-up. Australia's struggles against spin in the first game could pave the way for Amit Mishra, the legspinner, to make his first appearance in the series and his extended session in the nets, under the guidance of coach Dav Whatmore, was an indication.
Ashok Dinda, the Bengal seamer, has been drafted in to the squad as a replacement for the injured Sreesanth but his selection isn't guaranteed. Badrinath hinted at a change at the opening combination, with Sahil Kukreja replacing his Mumbai team-mate Ajinkya Rahane in the twelve.
Helmot reacted with surprise when informed of India's twelve and admitted that India's spin trio looked better equipped to exploit the conditions than his own. "They all look very good. They all bowl with good pace and variation," he said. "Chawla and [Mohnish] Parmar worked well in tandem and [Sudeep] Tyagi got a lot of reverse swing in conditions that didn't seem too conducive. It was a good workout for our guys actually."
Australia's final line-up doesn't have a really settled look to it, with a handful of players carrying niggles. Bryce McGain, the legspinner, has a sore shoulder, the seamer Ryan Harris has been ruled out with a chipped finger, and Beau Casson, the left-arm spinner, isn't up to peak fitness either. Not surprisingly, Helmot said the line-up will be decided on the morning of the match. He indicated that Jason Krejza, the Tasmanian offspinner, will get a chance after sitting out in Bangalore.
Both teams predictably spoke of carrying on with the momentum, but the ultimate result could hinge on which side reads the pitch better.
Teams
India A (probable) 1 Robin Uthappa, 2 Ajinkya Rahane, 3 Parthiv Patel (wk), 4 S Badrinath, 5 Mohammad Kaif, 6 Virat Kohli, 7 Piyush Chawla, 8 Vinay Kumar/Amit Mishra, 9 Mohnish Parmar, 10 Dhawal Kulkarni, 11 Sudeep Tyagi
Australia A (probable) 1 Phillip Hughes, 2 Simon Katich, 3 Adam Voges, 4 Marcus North, 5 George Bailey, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk), 7 Beau Casson/Jason Krejza, 8 Ashley Noffke, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Bryce McGain, 11 Doug Bollinger