India to go all out for series win

By G. Viswanath

NAGPUR, NOV. 24. Sourav Ganguly is on the doorstep of chronicling a new chapter in the history of Indian cricket. He is just one Test away and, should he win the second and final Test against Zimbabwe at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) ground here, he would become the first man in Indian cricket to come out with flying colours in his first three Tests as captain.

Ganguly might feel there is a realistic chance of winning the two-Test series against Zimbabwe hands down, although after a three hour session in the nets on Friday afternoon in the heat of central India, he again felt let down by the authorities in charge of preparing the pitch.

He had made a noise so that everybody heard what he had to say about the Kotla pitch. ``I asked for a turner and I got a flat track,'' said Ganguly after the first Test. When Ganguly had his first look at the pitch here, and again a little later with speedster Javagal Srinath, he showed no intentions of being in good humor. He controlled his rage and said the pitch could turn out to be a perfect deck for flat track bullies and added, ``I would not want someone like Srinath to bowl 20 overs in a day.''

Ganguly has not been vibing well with the game's administrators and national selectors on more than one count.

This does not augur well for Ganguly who by giving the impression of being nonsensical has rubbed people the wrong way. He must take the blame for his handling of left hand spinner Murali Kartik.

Kartik was handled well by V.V.S. Laxman in the Irani Cup match against Mumbai and delivered the goods. It is all about confidence and Ganguly did not specify a role for Kartik in the one-off Test against Bangladesh and in the first Test in New Delhi. Ganguly chose Sunil Joshi as the leading spinner in both Tests. Joshi for the first time earned the confidence of his captain in his 13th and 14th Tests.

But Ganguly's blatant handling of Kartik irked many, including the selectors. On Friday Ganguly went a step ahead, ruling him out for selection in the 11 along with Mohammed Kaif. Ganguly was also keen to have Punjab offspinner Harbhajan Singh but they gave him a rookie in Sarandeep Singh. There is no official line from the BCCI with regard to Harbhajan's status, who was under an ICC caution for suspect action which he later corrected spending two days with Fred Titmus.

Ganguly has not seen Sarandeep in a match situation and will always be reluctant to play him unless the selectors insist on his inclusion on Saturday morning. Sarandeep, 21, can come in only at the expense of a batsman (Laxman) because Ganguly said it was a mistake to leave out left hand fast medium bowler Zaheer Khan for the first Test.

The Indian captain made it obvious that he doesn't want to be associated with any controversy regarding team selection and quality of the pitch. But yet again he could not check himself from saying: ``I had sent word to Nagpur on the second day of the Test at the Kotla. I also asked the BCCI Secretary Mr. Lele five days ago to convey to VCA officials about the nature of the pitch for the second Test. I don't want to say any thing more. It's good,'' Ganguly trailed off.

There was oblique support for Ganguly from coach John Wright, in the matter of the nature of the pitch. Wright has been working on the fielding aspect, picking players for specific catching and fielding positions. By the end of the fifth one- dayer at Rajkot on December 14, Wright would have progressed some distance in shaping the fielding structure.

When he was asked who should have the final say (the staging associations or the team management) about the pitch, Wright said: ``I think everybody should pull in the same direction.''

On the brighter side is Srinath's return to form with a match winning effort nine for 141 in the first Test. That showing has taken him within 20 wickets of 200 in Tests. Srinath will have good support from Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar. ``We have four good bowlers and we should get used to playing with them. We have always played six batsmen and four bowlers,'' said Ganguly.

To achieve the 1-2-3 win as captain Ganguly's team must fire on all cylinders. With Dravid and Tendulkar in good nick and Srinath willing to stretch himself Ganguly is in a position to call the shots. For India to clinch the series 2-0 on a placid pitch the likes of Srinath, Agarkar, Zaheer Khan and Joshi must make their fingers obey their whims. If Sarandeep makes his debut Ganguly will have five batsmen, five bowlers and a wicketkeeper!

The Zimbabweans took a day off on Thursday and visited Agra's Taj Mahal. Zimbabwe knows that the odds will be stacked against it. It has to reconsider the option of playing Brian Murphy. He bowled 47 overs and got one wicket in the first Test. Surely there was a case for fast bowler Travis Friend, but he is injured and his selection will depend on clearance from the physiotherapist.

Leg spinner Paul Strang suffering from an injury to the forearm will fly home on Saturday morning. His replacement is Dirk Viljoen. Zimbabwe's best suit in batting is undoubtedly Andrew Flower. He made 253 runs at the Kotla. In his present form India will be lucky should it get him out cheaply. ``We will be looking forward to square the series,'' said coach Carl Rackemann.

The teams: India (from 12): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Sadagopan Ramesh, Shiv Sundar Das, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Joshi, Ajit Agarkar, Vijay Dahiya, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Sarandeep Singh, Venkat Sai Laxman; reserves: Murali Kartik, Mohammed Kaif.

Zimbabwe (from): Heath Streak (captain), Grant Flower, Gavin Rennie, Stuart Carlisle, Alistair Campbell, Andrew Flower, Guy Whittall, Dirk Viljoen, Bryan Strang, Travis Friend, Henry Olonga, Brian Murphy, Douglas Marillier, Mluleki Nkala, Trevor Madondo.

Umpires: Messrs: A.V. Jayprakash (India) and Steve Dunne (New Zealand); third umpire: K.S. Giridharan; match referee: Mr. Barry Jarman (Australia).

Hours of play: 9.30 to 11. 30 a.m.; 12.10 to 2.10 p.m. and from 2.30 to 4.30 p.m.

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