The team left their base for the last nine days, but not without another little controversy —- their team bus brushed against a silver Mercedes outside the hotel and amusingly caught the attention of the entire Aussie media.

And they reached here this afternoon to be smitten by the capital. The astounding Burley Griffith Lake —- named after the man who designed this city —- and all other man-made lakes here are a sight to behold. Then there are the old and the new Parliament houses, the national museum, the art library, and the Manuka Oval.

That’s where the Indians play the Australian Capital Territory XI in a three-day match. A ground that is known to have earned the affection of Don Bradman to bring cricket to this ground, its rich tradition of hosting the Prime Minister’s XI each year since 1952-53, it’s credibility of having hosted a World Cup match between South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1992 and being a permanent base for the Vikings in Australian rugby championships.

The 15,000 capacity stadium can be rated amongst the most picturesque grounds in world cricket, and its wicket holds a lot of promise for the batsman.

The curator, who lives in a two-storey 1930s style building located within the Oval, has been a bit confused with all this controversy of a possible boycott and the mystery of whether this tour game is a two-day or three-day match. And so he prepared a wicket that will remain good for four days.

The Indians warmed up with a little fielding session, and had a session at the nets. Yuvraj Singh batted long — monitored by a camera and the hawk eye of Sachin Tendulkar, who chipped in with his piece of advice to help the stylish left-hander. Yuvraj sounded cynical though. “I have not come here to score zeroes.”

With two no-scores in four innings, Yuvraj is suddenly finding himself without form and the pressure of hanging onto the number six slot has been too much for him to handle.

Tomorrow’s opposition is a bunch of boys trying to make an identity of their own, and Yuvraj, along with the likes of many others in this Indian team, would want to put up a eye-catching show before the Test at Perth.

With Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and RP Singh expected to sit out tomorrow, the focus will be on Virender Sehwag who will pad up and wield the willow for the first time in a match situation on this tour.

Sehwag has been expected to be India’s answer on the bouncy Perth pitch, and a good show here will throw up options and reopen debates for the team management.

Also on trial will be Wasim Jaffer and his previous opening partner Dinesh Kaarthick, while VRV Singh and Irfan Pathan are likely to be under serious consideration for the third-seamer’s slot in the next Test.

Indian will be led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and are hoping that twelve players get a chance to play the match —- an extra bowler will swap a specialist batsman’s place and vice-versa. Over the next three days, Team India will be back to playing cricket.