The sinking Indian ship loses its captain too

By S. Dinakar

COLOMBO, JULY 27. In a do-or-die battle that is, both, a test of character and ability, India will be without its captain. The news on the injury front is disturbing too.

For a battered side, down on morale, and fighting for survival, it is a grim scenario indeed. The Coca-Cola triangular tournament appears to be jinxed as far as India is concerned.

With three successive setbacks, and facing a must-win situation, India will not have the services of Sourav Ganguly for the duel against Sri Lanka at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday.

Ganguly has been suspended for one limited-overs game with immediate effect by match referee Mr. Cammie Smith for showing `dissent' after being adjudged leg-before to Kiwi paceman Kyle Mills by umpire Gamini Silva in what was a disastrous encounter for India on Thursday.

This is the third one-day International the Bengal batsman will be missing after running into trouble with the match referee, the others being the games against Australia at Kochi (1998), and Zimbabwe at Rajkot (2000). Vice-captain Rahul Dravid will take over the mantle in Ganguly's absence.

Later in the day, Mr. Anant Mate, the manager of the side, revealed three cricketers - ace batsman V.V.S. Laxman, promising left-arm pacemen Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra - had worrying fitness problems.

Laxman, battling with an injured cartilage on his right knee, will play in Saturday's match if the swelling subsides - this too only because of Ganguly's absence - and will then catch the flight to India the next day.

The Hyderabad batsman may have to undergo surgery that could put him out of action for a month, ruling him out of the Test series against Lanka as well.

Zaheer should play the next game but he has a painful right shin and will fly back to India for a bone scan. If Zaheer is cleared of a stress fracture, he should be back for the Test series, or even the final of the triangular tournament in the unlikely event of India qualifying.

And Nehra, who has been bothered by a groin strain for a while, will travel back after the completion of the one-day series, and is unlikely to be fit in time for the Test series here.

Mr. Mate said he would talk to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary, Mr. Jayawant Lele, regarding replacements, if the team-management wanted any.

Dravid too had an injury scare after being injured below his right thumb, but an x-ray did not reveal a fracture. The affected area is still swollen, but the Karnataka batsman will walk out for the toss on Saturday.

It is against this gloomy background that India prepares to take on an upbeat Sri Lanka, high on talent and confidence, with experience and youth complementing each other in a balanced line- up.

The problems afflicting the Indian team are not difficult to identify. Lacking in self-belief, the side has crumbled at the crunch. It is a side that is not enjoying its cricket, that appears under a seize.

The absence of application is reflected in the lack of partnerships, the key ingredient during a chase. The batsmen have stumbled and stumbled badly.

Stand-in skipper Dravid sounded optimistic when the media caught up with him in the evening. ``The only way we can go from here is up,'' he remarked with a smile.

He refused to accept that constant shuffling in the batting order had affected the rhythm, felt that the line-up should be flexible in one-dayers, and pointed out that the Aussies had successfully carried out experiments when the need arose. Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were among the best opening pairs in one-day Internationals, he said.

Dravid added that the injury to Sachin had resulted in some changes being made at the top of the order.

Lessons to learn

Admitting that the batting had been disappointing, Dravid observed it was a learning experience for the young cricketers. ``It is in such situations when we can know how many of them have character.''

Turning to the six-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka, Dravid said, ``it was disappointing. We had the game under control till the last four or five overs. If we had won that match, that would have made a big difference. We have to learn from that match.

``Everyone goes through rough times,'' he said and added that the youngsters should not come under too much criticism. ``Each one has to look at what he had done in the last four or five games instead of pointing fingers at the others.''

Some of the younger players were hardly a year old in international cricket and they needed to be given time. ``It is never easy to adjust to international cricket from the domestic circuit.''

The fact that almost all the batsmen had gone through a bad patch at the same time had made the matters worse, according to Dravid.

Coach John Wright did not hold back his punches when he said, ``there have been a few dismissals that were frustrating from my point of view and were hard to understand.'' The batsmen have to consolidate on the starts, he reiterated.

He emphasised the need to rotate the strike, pick singles, so that the desperate big hits are not required at the end. He also accepted there was a `lack of discipline' in the running between the wickets as reflected in the three run-outs in Thursday's game.

Wright, however, was satisfied with the bowling and fielding for most part, and was not willing to blame the pitch for the last defeat. ``We have been doing half the job. We had given ourselves a good chance of chasing targets but ...'' The coach hoped the young team would learn from this testing experience.

With Ganguly absent, Amay Khurasiya is expected to go out with Virender Sehwag, making it the fourth opening combination in four matches! This must surely be some kind of a record.

If the swelling in Laxman's knee doesn't subside, Hemang Badani, who did not exactly cover himself with glory in the last match, is expected to walk in at No. 3. He is a hungry, talented young man though and it would be a perfect opportunity for him to make amends. Well, it is a `big day' for India. Can the team rise to the occasion, and salvage some pride at least, even if it doesn't eventually make the final.

Raring to go

On the other hand, the Lankans, with six points in three games, are bristling with confidence. The side had nets at the Premadasa Stadium today, and is raring to have another crack at the hapless Indians.

The Lankans do not have too many batting worries with Marvan Atapattu and Russell Arnold having rediscovered form. Mahela Jayawardene is the only batsman short of runs, but then he is a talented young batsman, and should get into his stride soon.

Coach Dav Whatmore, happy with his team's display so far, indicated the winning combination would not be disturbed. Suresh Perera, nursing a strained thigh, will however have to pass a fitness test in the morning.

Asked about pace-bowling all-rounder Perera's fine displays under pressure, he said, ``It may have surprised many people, but it has not surprised us. We always believed in his ability.''

Skipper Sanath Jayasuriya had his bruised left-thumb x-rayed, and discovered to his relief that there was no break. Another man who is playing a prominent role in the Lankan scheme of things these days is Rumesh Ratnayake, who, apart from being the pace-bowling coach of the side, is also the stand-in manager. The likable man is popular with the young seamers.

The teams:

India (from): Rahul Dravid (captain), Amay Khurasiya, Virender Sehwag, V.V.S. Laxman, Hemang Badani, Yuveraj Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi, Sameer Dighe, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Rahul Sanghvi, Ajit Agarkar and Debasis Mohanty. Coach: John Wright.

Sri Lanka (from): Sanath Jayasuriya (captain), Avishka Gunawardene, Marvan Atapattu, Mahela Jayawardene, Russell Arnold, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Suresh Perera, Kumara Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dilhara Fernando, Dulip Liyanage, Kumara Sangakkara, Dinusha Fernando and Chamara Silva. Coach: Dav Whatmore.

Umpires: Mr. Asoka de Silva and Mr. Peter Manuel. Third umpire: Mr. Gamini Silva. Match Referee: Mr. Cammie Smith.

Hours of play (IST): 9.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1.45 p.m. till end of play.

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