Overcast sky,armed men greet Ponting and mates

An overcast sky greeted the Australian team as they reached Chandigarh this afternoon. After the attack on two Taiwanese nationals in New Delhi on Sunday,the team reached their destination amid heavy security for the first Test for the Border Gavaskar Trophy starting in Mohali from October 1. Before that,the Australian team will take on Board President XI side in a three-day match starting from September 25 at the Sector 16 cricket stadium.

All the well-known faces in the Australian side,including skipper Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke,entered the hotel. “Mr Cricket” Michael Hussey,Doug Bollinger,Peter George and James Pattinson will join the team later as they are currently serving their clubs in the T20 Champions League in South Africa. The team members headed directly to the hostel restaurant after reaching a city hotel.

The Australian team has brought three new faces in the team in place of injured pacer Josh Hazlewood- Peter George,James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc. “Mitchell has arrived here with the team while George and Pattinson will join the team later,” said Lachy Patterson,media manager of the Australian team. He also said that the final selection of the team will be made after the match with Board President XI. Lachy also expressed his satisfaction over the security arrangements. “We are quite satisfied with the security arrangements. We have no issues,” he shared.

The Board President XI team will also reach the city on 23. Middle-order batsman Cheteshwar Pujara and wicketkeeper Wridhhiman are currently taking part in the JP Atray Memorial Tournament in Chandigarh.

“Any match that has India and Australia is a classic. There is intensity and the matches are exciting. I have brought tickets for the Board President’s XI match and then I would surely watch the Test match in Mohali,” said Amandeep Singh,a student from Panjab University.