India's Test preparation

India is fending off angry reactions from home which have put a major distraction into the tourists' camp ahead of the fourth and final cricket Test against Australia.

Just two days after India posted one of their greatest Test wins, in Perth, effigies were being burned across the subcontinent over the axing of veteran batsman Sourav Ganguly from the one-day squad.

While it was effigies of Australian captain Ricky Ponting and umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson that were being burned following the second Test in Sydney, incensed fans in Kolkata burned the image of Indian board president Sharad Pawar.

The anger came after Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were all left out of a youthful limited overs squad to contest the series against Australia and Sri Lanka, which starts in February.

The issue has provided an unwelcome distraction after the 72-run win in the third Test in Perth, especially as the three veteran batsmen will be part of the side to play in the fourth Test, which starts Thursday at Adelaide Oval.

The limited-overs axings dominated an Indian press conference, and at one stage interim coach Lalchand Rajput was asked by an Indian reporter how "our heroes" could be treated so badly.

Rajput attempted to return the focus back to the Test series, where India have the chance to square the contest 2-2.

"This is not the forum to discuss that because it is important for our team to focus on the Test," Rajput said.

"At the moment we are just concentrating on the Test series, we are not looking ahead for the one-dayers ... this is a very, very important game for us."

The issue has flared to the point where one cricket administrator hinted limited overs captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni did not want Ganguly in his side.

Ganguly had initially been a revelation for the one-day side on his return to international cricket in 2006, but his returns have declined in ensuing series, while neither Dravid nor Laxman have figured in the shorter format recently.

However it was Ganguly's name on the lips of most protesters, and the batsman sometimes known as "the Prince of Kolkata" found strong support from his home administrators.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) described Ganguly's sacking as a "grave injustice".

"What has been done is totally wrong, grave injustice is being done to him," CAB joint secretary Samar Pal said.

"It seems Dhoni did not want him in the side. Dhoni is more comfortable with juniors so he is in favour of axing seniors.

"But we will not sit idle. We will lodge a strong protest (with the BCCI)."

The issue became so heated that former Indian player Navjot Sidhu challenged chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar to "an open debate" on the axing.

"I challenge Mr Vengsarkar to an open debate. If he can convince me on why he dropped Ganguly then I will leave NDTV (where Sidhu commentates) for a lifetime, otherwise he has to quit," Sidhu said.

"You can't drop because you don't like somebody's face."

India must this week also resolve a tricky selection quandary for the final Test, over the make-up of the bowling attack.

The great performances of pacemen RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma in Perth makes them tough to drop if the tourists want Harbhajan Singh to bowl spin alongside captain Anil Kumble.

To squeeze Harbhajan in at what should be a spinners' venue would mean either dropping one of the quicks or struggling opener Wasim Jaffer, and playing only five specialist batsmen.

But the last time India played five bowlers backfired badly, as England bowled them out for 100 in the final innings of the Test in Mumbai in 2005, and India's 212-run defeat meant the series was squared 1-1.

Rajput declined to discuss selection for the Test, as he wanted to assess the pitch beforehand.

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Davis Cup tie Bhupathi returns

NEW DELHI: Veteran doubles specialist Mahesh Bhupathi made a comeback for national duty as a five-member Indian team for the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan.

As non-playing captain, an injured Leander Paes will lead the team which also includes youngsters like Prakash Amritraj, Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Varman.

The home tie will be played here from February 8-10. Bhuapthi's return was expected as the doubles ace is required to represent the country to be eligible to participate in Beijing Olympics.

The Bangalore-based player did not play in India's last Davis Cup outing against the Uzbeks after his spat with Paes during the Doha Asian Games in December 2006.

In the away tie in Uzbekistan, India, comprising Paes, Vivek Shokeen, Karan Rastogi and Sunil Kumar Sipaeya had fared poorly and lost 1-4 to the hosts.

While Bhupathi will provide depth and experience to the Indian team, National hard court winner Ashutosh Singh and National grass court winner Vishnu Vardhan will be on the stand-bye to meet any exigency.

Meanwhile, chances of Paes taking the field cannot be ruled out during the home tie.

"He is upset as he was keen to play. He said, 'although I am not well, I will be very much there'," AITA Secretary Anil Khanna said.

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India beat Australia test victory

PERTH: India beat Australia by 72 runs on Saturday to end the home team's hopes of becoming the first team to win 17 Tests in-a-row in the third cricket Test at the WACA.

Faced with a target of 413, a fourth-innings target which had only been successfully chased once in Test history Australia began the day on 65-2 and was bowled out for 340, as India took wickets at a steady clip to prevent the home side gaining momentum.

India looked on course for a comfortable win when it reduced Australia to 253-8, but tailender Mitchell Johnson (50 not out) and Stuart Clark (32) used the long handle in a 73-run ninth wicket stand that briefly threatened an extraordinary comeback. India

It is the second time India has ended Australia's hopes of 17 straight wins, having also done so in Calcutta in 2001.

India became the first team from the subcontinent to win at the WACA Ground, where the bouncy and pacey pitch usually negates teams whose strength lies in spin bowling. Of touring sides, only West Indies (five time) and England (once) have previously won test matches at the WACA in the 35 tests played here.

It was Australia's first defeat in 11 WACA tests since losing to the West Indies in February 1997.

It was also Australia's first defeat in 26 home tests over four years, with the previous loss also against India, in December 2003 at the Adelaide Oval.

From the time young fast bowler Ishant Sharma dismissed Ponting in the morning, Australia struggled to challenge the target, with no one able to make the big century the task required.

Ponting squared up to a delivery that bounced and swung away to be caught by Rahul Dravid at first slip.

In what was the best spell of swing bowling in the match, Sharma (1-63) had Ponting playing and missing repeatedly before finally dismissing him.

Mike Hussey (45) and Andrew Symonds (12) were then trapped lbw soon after lunch.

Virender Sehwag was the unlikely star of the afternoon session, using his part-time offspin to dismiss Adam Gilchrist (15) and Brett Lee (0) in successive overs. Gilchrist was bowled around his legs as he attempted to sweep.

Sehwag took 2-24 from his eight overs. Australia was then reliant upon last recognized batsman Michael Clarke to guide the tail-enders, and he hit a fluent 81. When he went, stumped off Anil Kumble's legspin, Australia's chances were effectively at an end.

Johnson and Clark indulged in some lusty late-order hitting as the hosts got the runs required into double figures, with the crowd willing them towards what proved impossible.

Leftarm swing bowler Irfan Pathan (3-54), who accounted for both Australian openers, finally claimed Clark who edged a delivery to wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

R P Singh (2-95) bowled No.11 Shaun Tait soon after to end the match, leaving Johnson unbeaten after a maiden test half-century that included two sixes and five fours.

Australia leads the four-test series 2-1, with the final Test to begin in Adelaide claimed the last two wickets late on the fourth day. on January 24.

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