The spotlight will be on Sachin Tendulkar when West Zone takes on the Rahul Dravid led-South Zone in a league match of the Duleep Trophy cricket tournament in Hyderabad on Tuesday.
With the series against Pakistan a few days away, the match provides a perfect opportunity for the India players to test themselves in a match situation and youngsters to prove their talent.
The match has generated considerable interest as it will mark the return of Tendulkar, Irfan Pathan and Ajit Agarkar to action after the trio missed the first match of their zone due to fitness problems.
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West Zone lost that match against North and will now be keen for a win this time around to remain in the hunt.
"This is a major opportunity for the youngsters and a big practice match for us ahead of the big series. This is a first class match and we cannot take it easy. Youngsters have to make the best use of the match," Tendulkar, who will lead West, said.
On the opponents' strengths and weaknesses, he said: "I'm not bothered about what's on the other side of the coin. What matters most for me is our performance and we will try to give our best."
West Zone coach Paras Mambhrey said the boys are working hard and will try and give a good performance.
South Zone looks good enough to challenge West. They have depth in batting and boast of good and experienced bowlers.
Led by Dravid, the team has the experience of local hero VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble and L Balaji and will be eager to go one up on their rivals.
South Zone also has in its ranks youngsters like Dinesh Karthik and Y Venugopal Rao, who excelled recently in the Ranji Trophy for Andhra.
Also in the southern team are aspiring players Roland Barrington and Robin Uthappa, who have had a good run in the Ranji Trophy.
Star-studded West also has wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel, who is eager to impress the selectors and make a comeback to the national team.
Youngsters Ramesh Powar, Vinit Indulkar, Rajesh Pawar Niraj Patel and openers Akash Christian and Wasim Jaffer are expected to give their best and try to make the most of whatever opportunity comes their way.
The match will be keenly watched by India coach John Wright and physio John Gloster, who will assess the players' performance and fitness.
Teams (from):
West Zone: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Ajit Agarkar (vice-captain), Irfan Pathan, Zaheer Khan, Ranjit Khirid, Wasim Jaffer, Ramesh Powar, Vinit Indulkar, Satyajit Parab, Siddharth Trivedi, Rajesh Pawar, Rakesh Patel, Kiran Pawar, Niraj Patel, Parthiv Patel (WK), Akash Christian, Dheeraj Jadhav and Jaydev Shah. Coach: Paras Mhambrey.
South Zone: Rahul Dravid (captain), VVS Laxman (vice-captain), Roland Barington, Robin Utthappa, S Sriram, Y Venugopal Rao, Dinesh Kaarthick (WK), L Balaji, Anil Kumble, Ram Kumar, R Jesuraj, MR Srinivas, Vinay Kumar, Swapnil Asnodha amd S Sarath. Coach: Sharad Padnekar.
Umpires: Rajeev Seth and Sudhir Asrani.
Match Referee: Rajender Goel.
