The Indian touring team, almost immediately after their arrival in Zimbabwe, commuted to the small city of Mutare in the country's Eastern Highlands for the first of their two first-class warm-up matches prior to the First Test.

They face strong opposition, with eight of the eleven Zimbabwe A players having Test caps and the other three likely to win theirs within the next year or two. In three days, if the Mutare Sports Club produces its usual fairly somnolent pitch, a draw is the most likely result.

The Zimbabwe A team is as follows, in possible batting order: Gavin Rennie, Hamilton Masakadza, Dion Ebrahim, Craig Wishart, Craig Evans, Dirk Viljoen, Tatenda Taibu, Travis Friend, Brian Murphy, Bryan Strang and David Mutendera.

Zimbabwe A are captained by Rennie and the side also includes Bryan Strang. These are the tow players considered most unfortunate to be dropped from the Test team against Bangladesh. Rennie scored 93 and 37, top score in both innings, in Zimbabwe's previous Test, against New Zealand at Wellington beginning on Boxing Day last year. He will naturally be looking to convince the selectors that they made a mistake. He is a quiet, thoughtful captain who has limited experience in that role but has nevertheless been widely praised for his leadership ability.

Ebrahim, who replaced Rennie against Bangladesh, did not look really convincing opening the batting and he too has his place to play for. Playing against India, the country of his ancestors, is a thrill for him and he bats in what is considered to be the traditional Indian style, lively and wristy.

The powerful and aggressive Wishart, out of favour but not yet out of the reckoning, gets another chance to show his undoubted worth, as does all-rounder Viljoen, who will probably feature in the one-day series. It is just the inclusion of the big-hitting Evans that is puzzling.

Evans has enjoyed a good season, but at the age of 31 he is a middle-order batsman and part-time medium-pace bowler who has generally been considered a one-day specialist. Since he lost his one-day place two years ago, he may just be considered for the triangular tournament, but it is hardly likely that he is in the reckoning for the Test matches. He has also become too vocal on the field, a `quality' we should not want to inflict on our visitors. I feel it would have been far better to give his place to a talented youngster - such as twelfth man Stuart Matsikenyeri.

One player to watch is wicket-keeper Taibu, who last season toured West Indies and England with the national side to gain experience. He only finishes school this year, but many judges predict a fine future for him, and not only behind the stumps. Former national coach Dave Houghton says that he has not seen such a talented natural stroke player in this country since Graeme Hick, but Taibu has yet to make a significant impact with the bat at first-class level.

Also in the team is his schoolmate and opening batsman Masakadza, who recently became not only the first black Zimbabwean player to record a first-class century, but also the youngest Zimbabwean of any race. He too is perhaps only months away from a Test place, once he leaves school, especially with the shortage of quality opening batsmen in the country.

Three seam or swing bowlers are in the side: Strang, who has a very strong point to prove to the selectors, Mutendera and Friend, who now seems to have recovered from the stress fracture he sustained in Australia early this year. Friend, the quickest of the three when fully fit, is also a notable batsman and has the potential to be a quality all-rounder.

Leg-spinner Murphy is now presumably ranked behind Raymond Price as far as the Test berth is concerned, and he will want his place back. The second spinner in the team is left-armer Viljoen, while other possible bowlers are Evans and Ebrahim (medium-pace), Wishart (off-spin) and Rennie (slow left-arm).

The Indian preparations for their first series victory on foreign soil in 15 years will be put to the test against this side. This being only one of the two matches before the first Test starting in Bulawayo on June 7, the Indians have left nothing to chance. They are fielding a full strength Test eleven against an equally strong Zimbabwean side which boasts of nine past and present Test players.

A measure of their seriousness was evident in the manner the Indians took to practice within hours of arriving in Harare on Friday and captain Sourav Ganguly today took the unusual step of announcing the final eleven a day in advance. The team included three medium pacers to exploit the windy and bouncy conditions prevailing here. "These pitches suit the seamers. So we will go in with three fast bowlers," he said.

Harbhajan Singh is the only spinner included in the team to bowl alongside Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar. There was no experimentation in the batting order with the normal Test line up of Shiv Sunder Das, Sadagopan Ramesh, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Ganguly and Samir Dighe being fielded.

As with most warm-up matches, the players will probably be more concerned with individual performances than the result. But there will be much of interest, and no doubt the traditional Mutare hospitality, combined with a beautiful and upgraded ground, will make the first visit of any touring team to play a first-class match in the city memorable.

The teams:

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Shiv Sunder Das, Sadagopan Ramesh, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sameer Dighe, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Debasis Mohanty (12th man).

Zimbabwe A: Gavin Rennie (captain), H Masakadza, Dion Ebrahim, Craig Wishart, Craig Evans, Dirk Viljoen, T Taibu, Travis Friend, Bryan Strang, D Mutender, Brian Murphy and S Matsikenyeri (12th man).

Umpires: Graham Gilmour and Kevin Barbour.

© CricInfo