Another stern test for Ganguly

The fact that it's the centenary year of Kumar Duleepsinhji adds a historical tinge to this season's Duleep Trophy, which starts on October 20, but there is another prince who will be the centre of attention as East Zone take on North in the opening game at Rajkot. Simultaneously, South will play West at Baroda, in what is likely to be the more competitive of the two contests, but the events at Rajkot could have a huge bearing on the future of Indian cricket and will inevitably make the headlines.

Recently dethroned from the Indian captaincy, and left out for the opening games of the series against Sri Lanka, Sourav Ganguly faces another crucial juncture in a career filled with such defining moments. Having just recovered from a mild tennis elbow, he will have to counter an effective pace attack, prove his fitness, and then form, to harbour hopes of returning to the Indian side for the rest of the series.

Leading a side that starts as the underdogs, he will be up against a team that has a fine record in zonal tournaments over the last five years. Three bowlers he is likely to face - Gagandeep Singh, Joginder Sharma and Amit Mishra - ended among the top ten wicket-takers last season. The other, VRV Singh, has already established himself as one of the fastest operators around and shown that he is capable of hurrying the best. Suffice to say, he faces a daunting task. Needless to say, he has weathered many such storms in the past.

Starting with his Test debut at Lord's, Ganguly has shown that no challenge is beyond him. The last time he played a domestic first-class game in India, he returned from a side-strain problem to score 170. In the game before that, he produced a heroic 121 and helped Bengal stave off relegation by the slimmest of margins. Batting support may come from Shiv Sundar Das, Rohan Gavaskar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, all former Indian players who have impressive domestic records, and, going by history, the Muncipal Stadium may help them grind out a big total.

But North may have all the ammunition to wrap up the points. Led by Dinesh Mongia, they may not face too many challenges from the East Zone attack and Pankaj Dharmani, Ravneet Ricky and Shikhar Dhawan will be expected to shoulder the burden of putting runs on the board. North's strength, though, lies in the bowling and their varied bowling attack makes them the favourites for the tournament.

As the battle rages on at Rajkot, West Zone will take on South in the other game at Baroda. Zaheer Khan, left out of the Indian squad, will get a chance to reclaim his form while Dheeraj Jadhav, Niraj Patel and Ramesh Powar will be hoping to catch the eye. The VVS Laxman-led South Zone, though, comprising Lakshmipathy Balaji, Robin Uthappa and other young stars, might have other ideas.