Hinds, Sarwan shine in drawn tour opener West Indies batsmen made an encouraging start to their tour of India, scoring 606-4 in their drawn tour opener against the Board President's XI at Bangalore. Opener Wavell Hinds made 147, Ramnaresh Sarwan 140, Chris Gayle 62, captain Carl Hooper 67, Ryan Hinds 74 and Ridley Jacobs an unbeaten 50, as the Board President XI bowlers were made to toil on the last two days of the three-dayer. On a benign pitch that held no terrors for the batsmen. Amit Mishra, who has been named in the Indian squad for the first two Tests, Sarandeep Singh and Tinu Yohannan all went for over a 100 runs each while the rest of the bowlers also found the going tough. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik, who claimed two wickets for 92 runs, was the most successful bowler for the home side. Earlier, Dinesh Mongia made an unbeaten 101 and Hemang Badani 67 to help the Board President's XI post 283-8 declared in the first innings after they had opted to bat.

Amit Mishra in Indian squad for first two Tests Indian selectors on Saturday included leg-spinner Amit Mishra and Javagal Srinath in the 14-man squad for the first two Tests against the West Indies. Mishra was rewarded for his fine showing during India A's away series against Sri Lanka A. Srinath's inclusion, meanwhile, was a foregone conclusion after the experienced fast bowler agreed to reverse his earlier decision to retire from Test cricket. The selectors also decided to give seventeen-year-old Parthiv Patel yet another chance to cement his place, picking him ahead of Ajay Ratra. Shiv Sunder Das, who has struggled in the recent past, will be another man who would be treating his inclusion as an opportunity to establish his credentials and re-affirm his opener's slot in the Indian side in this home series. All-rounder Sanjay Bangar, who bowls useful medium-pace and can bat at the top of the order, could turn into a key member of the side in the event that Ashish Nehra does not regain fitness in time for the first Test, which starts on October 9. Nehra sustained an injury in the Champions Trophy, splitting the webbing between two fingers of his bowling hand. He is said to be recovering quickly and will take a fitness test in the near future. Coach John Wright joined the selection committee in deciding the composition of the squad. Sourav Ganguly had earlier been retained as the captain for the series. Squad: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Shiv Sunder Das, Amit Mishra

You could see a star or two being born -Walsh Courtney Walsh was the captain the last time the West Indies toured India. But seven years on, Test cricket's highest wicket-taker is well and truly enjoying his retirement. Walsh, who played in two Test series' against India in India, feels that the current tour might throw up a star or two as far as the West Indies bowling is concerned. "It will be a real test for the West Indies fast bowlers because for some it will be their first tour of India," he told the BBC. "If they stick to their guns you could see a star or two being born. Pedro Collins came along in leaps and bounds in the last home series and I'm sure that with a bit of responsibility he could be a real leader. The two youngsters, Darren Powell and Jermaine Lawson, both have promise and I'm saying that not just because they're from Jamaica but because I know a little bit about them," Walsh observed.

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