India needs to win both its matches

By Our Sports Reporter

COLOMBO, JULY 31. India has to clinch both its remaining matches in the Coca Cola triangular series to progress to the final. Sourav Ganguly's men take on Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club stadium, here, on Wednesday.

In the event of India winning this game, the side would still have to beat New Zealand in its last game on Thursday, since the Kiwis have a better head-to-head record, having beaten India twice in the tournament.

The net run-rate, which would have come into play in the event of a three-way tie, has now been ruled out with Lanka registering its fourth win in five matches. New Zealand has four points from five games, while India has two from four.

The good news for India, however, is that skipper Sourav Ganguly will be back after serving his one-match suspension. He will replace the out-of-form Amay Khurasia in the line-up.

In case India and Sri Lanka split two points if their match cannot be completed due to rain, the former will need to win only the last match of the league phase.

The teams:

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

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

Umpires: Mr. A. de Silva and Mr. G. Silva. Third umpire: Mr. Wijewardene. Match Referee: Mr. Cammie Smith.

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

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Sport
Previous : It's Sri Lanka all the way
Next     : A poor advertisement for the one-day game