Delhi opening batsman Akash Chopra, who scored a magnificent century in the rain-affected tour opener at Visakhapatnam last weekend, gets another chance to stake his claim for the Indian side ahead of the first Test in Ahmedabad next week.

Chopra and Sadagopan Ramesh of Tamil Nadu, who is trying to return to the senior side after a long layoff, will be watched closely in the three-day match between India 'A' and the visiting New Zealanders starting on Thursday, October 2, in Rajkot.

The 'A' side led by Mohammed Kaif had a good workout over the last two days. The team includes Hemang Badani, another free-stroking Tamil Nadu batsman, Abhijit Kale, a solid middle-order batsman from Maharashtra, Rohan Gavaskar, an aggressive batsman from Bengal, and Baroda opener Connor Williams. Delhi's Mithun Manhas is another player to watch.

The wicket-keeper is Test discard Deep Dasgupta, also a Bengal player. 

The bowling looks well balanced. The two spinners, left-arm orthodox Murali Kartik and off-spinner Sarandeep Singh, are likely to prove a handful for the Kiwis. Delhi's Mithun Manhas is another player to watch.

With Saurashtra Cricket Association secretary Niranjan Shah stressing that the wicket will help the seamers, it will be interesting to see how 20 year-old Munaf Patel, who is said to be genuinely fast, performs.

Kerala speedster Sreesanth and R P Singh of Punjab are the other two speedsters in the fourteen-member squad coached by former Indian Test star Sandeep Patil.

The visitors on the other hand will be looking for some much-needed batting practice. Thanks to the rain, none of their batsmen even got to pad up in the Visakhapatnam match.

Skipper Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle are the mainstays of the Kiwi batting. They also have the dangerous Craig McMillan and Lou Vincent and two youngsters, wicket-keeper Robbie Hart and Richard Jones, backed by experienced all-rounder Scott Styris.

Left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori and off-spinner Paul Wiseman will have to bowl really well to trouble the strong India 'A' batting line-up.

But even without Shane Bond, the quickest of the New Zealand bowlers, and all-rounder Chris Cairns, their new-ball bowling line-up is pretty impressive. India's destroyers during the tour of New Zealand last year, Jacob Oram and Daryl Tuffey, could cause a lot of problems if they get to bowl first on the green top.

But the man to watch will be Michael Mason, who is said to be pretty quick. They also have another fast-bowling option in Ian Butler who, however, was not every impressive at Visakhapatnam.

Opening batsman Mark Richardson is another youngster to watch.

New Zealand (from): Stephen Fleming (c), Nathan Astle, Ian Butler, Robbie Hart (wk), Richard Jones, Craig McMillan, Michael Mason, Jacob Oram, Mark Richardson, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent, Paul Wiseman Coach: Ashley Ross

India 'A' (from): Mohammed Kaif (c), Sadagopan Ramesh, Akash Chopra, Connor Williams, Mithun Manhas, Abhijit Kale, Hemang Badani, Deep Dasgupta (wk), Murali Kartik, Sarandeep Singh, Munaf Patel, Sreesanth, Rohan Gavaskar, R P Singh
Coach: Sandeep Patil

Umpires: M S Mahal (Punjab), V K Chopra (Delhi)