I will open… No I will … And the argument continues

Images of what looked liked a heated argument, involving the usual suspects - Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell - were beamed in the television on day 1 of the game. Tongues wagged, minds tried to guess what could they have been talking about and newspapers have revealed that the discussion revolved around opening the innings and that Dravid wanted to take upon himself the responsibility of opening with Virender Sehwag. Chappell remained silent throughout, staring intently at Dravid’s face.

Pradeep Magazine, the sports editor of Hindustan Times tells us what really happened.

In the ground, Dravid told Ganguly that he need not open as he himself had decided to take the slot.

What the world saw was Ganguly, who was mentally prepared to open the batting after his skipper has told him about it earlier, telling Dravid: "You need not sacrifice your position for me as I am ready to open". Sources said Dravid replied that he had batted on several occasions when the score was 0 for one, so it was no big deal "for me to open".

The story would have rested there. But it seems that when a Ten Sports employee went to Chappell to confirm whether a sheet of paper that showed Ganguly opening was correct or not, the coach cut out Ganguly's name and put it at the No. 5 slot.