Australia begin India tour with warm-up match

The visiting Australian cricket team officially started their tour of India with a warm-up three-day match against the Board President's XI team at the picturesque Sector 16 stadium in Chandigarh on Saturday.

The Australian side, led by Ricky Ponting, opted to bat first in the warm-up game after winning the toss.

Shane Watson and Simon Katich opened the innings for the Australian side. The team scored 38 runs, without losing any wicket, in the first 12 overs.

The match here was greeted by bright sunshine on Saturday following two days of incessant rainfall over the city earlier this week.

The Board President's XI team is led by Gautam Gambhir.

The Australia team will play two Test matches and three one-day international (ODI) matches against the Indian cricket team in this series.

The first Test match begins at the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) stadium at Mohali, 10 km from Chandigarh.