Chennai: Former captain Sourav Ganguly will be the cynosure of all eyes when he takes the field in the second and final four-day match between India A and New Zealand A starting here on Friday.

The otherwise low-profile encounter has assumed significance with Ganguly, out of cricket for over a month, given a place in the India A squad to gain some match practice before the first Test against Australia.

Ganguly, included in the 15-member squad for the first two Tests against Australia, had asked for his inclusion in the India A team after being left out of the Rest of India squad for the Irani Trophy.

India A, already on a high after their thumping 129-run win in the first match against the same opponents on Wednesday, would also be strengthened by the presence of left-arm pacer R.P. Singh and leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who was in the India A team before his call-up for national duty.

The batting line-up looks strong with captain Suresh Raina hitting form with a sparkling 146 in the second innings of the first match, which laid the platform for India’s win.In the bowling department, pacer Ashok Dinda has been impressive, generating good pace to claim seven wickets, including five for 60 in the second essay.

Teams

India A (from): Suresh Raina (captain), Sourav Ganguly, Jaydev Shah, M. Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Sahil Kukreja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha, Ashok Dinda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sudeep Tyagi, R.P. Singh, Amit Mishra, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohnish Parmar.

New Zealand A (from): Peter Fulton (captain), Brent Arnel, Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Lain ’Brien, Martin Guptill, Greg Hay, Nathan McCullum, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Trent Boult, Aaron Redmond, Bradley Scott, Reece Young (wicketkeeper), B.J. Watling.