Watson's ton of experience saves the day

Shane Watson stands in way of fighting India

Day 1 Australia 224 for 5 (Watson 101*, Ponting 71, Zaheer 3-45) v India

MOHALI: Shane Watson last night credited his stint in the inaugural Indian Premier League tournament for his ease with Indian conditions, having stroked his second Test century

Ponting won the toss and batted, making 71 runs for himself

Watson's unbeaten 101 anchored the tourists.Watson has spent some gut-wrenching periods in the nineties during his 21 Tests.

Watson, who hit successive centuries in the practice match, played a cautious innings, watching carefully after lunch and grinding out his runs after some early lifelines, including two dropped catches and two missed run-out chances before he'd reached 50. At one stage it took him 10 overs to score one run, and he brought up his ton from 258 balls in 5½ hours.

Watson and Tim Paine (one not out) will resume today desperate to forge a second meaningful partnership after the opener and his captain put on 141 runs for the second wicket.

Watson smashes another ton in tour match..game ends in draw

Opener Shane Watson (104no) made a second century of the match to follow his first innings 115,

Shane Watson smashed his second century of the match as Australia drew with the Indian Board President's XI in Chandigarh on Monday.

Watson plundered an unbeaten 104 off 121 deliveries, including 18 boundaries, as Australia ended their preparations ahead of Friday's first Test against India.

Ben Hilfenhaus (5-47) picked up two wickets, while Nathan Hauritz removed

When the locals batted a second time, Test opener Gautam Gambhir was conspicuous by his absence, and Ben Hilfenhaus struck a blow to the jaw of Shikhar Dhawan and forced him to retire hurt

Score Detail.. Australians vs indian Board President's XI

Australians 505 for 8 dec. (Watson 115, Katich 104 retd*, North 124 retd*) and 187 for 6 dec. (Watson 104*, Chawla 3-64) drew with Board President's XI 177 (Chawla 82, Hilfenhaus 5-47) and 174 for 0 (Rahane 113*, Pujara 52*)

The first Test between India and Australia begins on Friday.