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Piyush Chawla (centre) celebrates the dismissal of Ricky Ponting (left) in Hyderabad yesterday. Pics/Suresh KK

Aashish Kapoor, Sarandeep Singh, Venkatapathy Raju, Sairaj Bahutule, Harbhajan Singh, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Murali Kartik. Add Piyush Chawla to the list.

For a man who's had four Test tours to India and is currently on his fifth, Ricky Ponting seems as circumspect as a newbie against the turning ball. It's not like the Australian captain hasn't scored runs against spinners in the past.

But in India, where nine of all the above mentioned spinners have accounted for his wicket, Ponting battles a certain hoodoo on every tour. And yesterday would not have helped his cause. Falling to Chawla, who does not even feature in the Indian Test squad for the first two Tests would not have been apt preparation for a tour, which Ponting believes will finally bring him success.

Best shape

"This is my time, I believe. I have learned so much from the past tours and just playing India on and off. I am in the best shape of my life and hungry to get some runs in India," Ponting had said on the eve of the tour game against Board President's XI at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

He added, "I think it was the first Test in India. I fell very early and since then have been trying to play in a different manner every time."

But the manner in which Ponting fell to Chawla was reminiscent of his previous foibles in this land. Lunging forward to a good length ball, Ponting shaped to leg-break, only for the ball to go the other way and take his middle stump down.

Speaking after Day Two, Chawla was obviously delighted with his googly calling it his stock delivery.

He remarked, "Accha tha?" when asked if he had seen the dismissal again on television. "I haven't seen it yet.
But I was happy getting him out. He's a great batsman so I was just hitting the right areas and worked on his patience," Chawla said.

He added, "I have seen him bat so many times and know that he's struggled in India, so that gave me confidence. However, I never felt I had the upperhand in the battle. He's a great batsman who's smashed many bowlers before. So I knew not to be overconfident."

Sign of worry

Ponting's 41 came in 67 balls and included five fours and two sixes both off Pragyan Ojha. But he looked like a man under constant threat and Chawla really kept him quiet. And with a googly, he also finished him off.

That Ponting's fellow top order batsmen looked frail yesterday is a worrying sign for the touring party, especially after the thinning down of their spin attack with Bryce McGain's return to Australia after injury. Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich who is set to open in the first Test in Bangalore and Michael Clarke did not make any impression.

Only Michael Hussey lent some stability with his first first-class fifty in India and saw the day off with 'keeper Brad Haddin. Australia finished Day Two on 191 for four after BP XI had extended their first innings score to 455 before folding in the first session.