QAS v. India - Tour match

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Laxman went for 74. India are 7/177.

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India are 8/200. Agarkar is 21 n.o.

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The QAS is 2/79 after 22 overs. Carseldine is 31 n.o. Payne made 35.

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Carseldine could hardly have done more to keep his name in the picture for when the Bulls' selectors next meet.

He scored 112 and 109 n.o. in this match.

The QAS declared on 6/208 and India meandered to 4/121 from 52 overs before the game was called off.

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Moody Ganguly walks off
By Michael Crutcher - Fox Sports
December 2, 2003

INDIA's tour of Australia continued to unravel yesterday when captain Sourav Ganguly abandoned his team during the unflattering draw against the Queensland Academy of Sport in Brisbane.

A disgruntled Ganguly left the ground early and did not return after he was given out during India's spluttering warm-up to Thursday's opening Test at the Gabba.

Ganguly loitered at the crease, seemingly in protest at his dismissal for 35 when QAS captain Aaron Nye held a slips catch from the bowling of off-spinner Chris Simpson.

Ganguly eventually departed and headed back to the team hotel although Nye admitted his rival skipper may not have known the ball flicked his glove after hitting his pad.

Earlier in the day, Ganguly left his teammates in the field while he headed into the nearby nets for batting practice.

He needed a hit after scoring just two and six in his opening Australian appearances, but it was still a surprise to see an international captain leave his team during a match for an individual session.

Ganguly's behaviour highlighted the pressure gripping the Indians after they failed to win a session against an impressive Queensland second XI driven by Lee Carseldine's century in each innings.

India's plight is akin to a boxer losing an amateur fight before meeting Muhammad Ali at his prime, such is the challenge facing the tourists against Steve Waugh's world champions.

They were shaky in the drawn match against Victoria last week and they need to forget about the last three days after grafting to stumps at 4-121 chasing 305.

Nye admitted he was disappointed India had not been more aggressive after he gave them 65 overs to chase down the victory that could have inflated their tyres before the Tests.

"We gave them a target that was fairly generous when you look at their batting line-up. I thought they would have shown a bit more urgency," Nye said.

"It depends what they wanted to get out of the game. Playing the way they did they may not have got out all they could from the game.

"I wouldn't think they're going in (to the Test series) with a great deal of confidence but they are fantastic players. You can see they want to compete but they're going to have to go up a notch because Australian teams don't give you an inch."

India were playing without batting gun Sachin Tendulkar and their frontline bowlers but they were still unable to blunt two outstanding innings from Carseldine.

He made an unbeaten 109 yesterday in the QAS second innings of 6-208 declared, following his 112 on day one, to continue an excellent record against touring teams.

The left-hander hit a double-century against New Zealand two summers ago although he has not been an automatic choice in the Queensland first XI because of recent injury problems.

Carseldine, whose bowling earned praise from Waugh several summers ago, allowed the QAS to declare at lunch on the third day and invite India into an exciting finish.

But the tourists backed away, low on batting confidence after their top guns were negated during the first innings total of 9-208 declared.

Before yesterday's disappointments, India were talking up new coach Bruce Reid's claims that he had identified weaknesses in Australia's powerful top order in the lead-up to the opening Test.

The lanky former Australian Test bowler Reid told Indian newspapers that both Just Langer and run machine Matthew Hayden were susceptible to leg before decisions at the start of their innings.

But Langer said yesterday he was not concerned about any advice his fellow West Australian would pass on to the tourists.

"I think every team in the world has a plan how to get us out, but they haven't worked too well so far," Langer said in Brisbane.

Reid has been brought in by Indian coach John Wright to assist his inexperienced fast bowling brigade to adjust to Australian conditions in the four-Test series.