Dinesh Mongia  

Profile:

A left-hander with a penchant for tall scores, Dinesh Mongia made his Ranji Trophy debut in 1995-96. He had a rather sedate entry, getting to play just a single game against Baroda in which he scored 21. After a disappointing 1997-98 season, Mongia again roared back to form, aggregating 667 runs at an average of 47.50 the next season, thanks to two centuries. His growing stature gained further momentum during the 2000-2001 season, when he stamped his class by hitting Jammu & Kashmir for 308. This - the highest score by a Punjab batsman in the Ranji Trophy - was the start of a dream run.

In the Duleep Trophy that followed, he amply demonstrated that he had arrived on the national scene. First he hit a stroke filled 201 against a strong South Zone attack which included five bowlers who had played for the country. A couple of matches later, Mongia battered the Central Zone attack for a thrilling 208. Such consistency could not escape the selectors' eye and a place among the 25 probables for the series against Australia was just reward for him.

Mongia's performance in the one-day series against the Australians was not much to write home about, but he did make waves when England and Zimbabwe toured India, taking runs at will off both attacks and making his first one-day century - an unbeaten 159 - opening the innings against Zimbabwe. Mongia was included in the Test squad for the West Indies, but he got no chances to play the longer version of the game. He did make runs in the three one-dayers that followed, making his selection for the tour to England a sure thing.