No commentary duty for Ganguly and Dravid in Chennai

Two popular voices - Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly - will be missed in the commentary line-up for the India-Australia Test series starting at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here tomorrow. While Ganguly is nursing an ankle injury, Dravid, skipper of the Rajasthan Royals, is busy preparing in Bangalore for the Indian Premier League. Dravid made his commentary debut last year.u00a0

Brand Bhajji promotion
Harbhajan Singh, who is one match away from playing his 100th Test, had a new sticker pasted on the front and back of his bat yesterday. The perky offie has taken up the responsibility to promote his own brand.

Spin trio: Ashwin, Ojha & Jadeja?
IT seems skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's demand of a rank turner will finally be met as the Chepauk pitch has all the ingredients of a spinning track from Day One. India is unlikely to play with four spinners though. Besides Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja will play as the third spinner for the first Test.

Aussies face the heat!
MICHAEL Clarke & Co might face some tough times in the scorching heat here. During daytime, the average temperature rises to 35 degree Celsius, while it is 27 at night. However, skipper Clarke and coach Mickey Arthur are confident that players will cope well with the heat factor.

Clarke said: "We knew about this (heat factor) even before we landed here. We don't want to put extra pressure on ourselves by thinking about it."

Aus announce team well in advance
Australia doesn't believe in suspense over their playing XI, and that is why they have announced their line-up for the first Test 48 hours before the match. Moises Henriques will make his Test debut. James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc and Moises will form the pace attack, while Nathan Lyon is the lone specialist spinner.u00a0