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Stomach virus forces Ganguly out of Tasmania match

Down with a stomach virus, Indian vice-captain Saurav Ganguly is expected to miss the game against Tasmania at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, starting tomorrow.

India's preparation today was ruined by heavy rain after an hour of warm-ups, a light-hearted soccer match, and some tip-and-run cricket.

Ganguly missed the training session, but was likely to rest anyway as the Indians still failed to solve the batting equation after a disastrous Test defeat in Adelaide.

Opener Devang Gandhi, exposed by a short-pitched barrage from Glenn McGrath in Adelaide, is sure to face the axe and will be replaced by Laxman, who will be pushed up the order, resulting in Rahul Dravid coming at three, Tendulkar at four and Ganguly at five.

Tendulkar said lack of preparation couldn't be blamed for India's poor batting in Adelaide, but he was confident that key players such as Ganguly and Dravid would find form. "For the Test line-up, we have had reasonable practice out in the middle," Tendulkar said.

"We have been practising every morning and evening. For the youngsters who have not played most of the games, we would like to give them an opportunity -- if at all there is some kind of an injury, they should be in a position to play."

Tendulkar said India wanted serious match practice against Tasmania, which has named a full-strength side with the notable exception of in-form batsman Ricky Ponting.