Ganguly rules himself in for tri-series opener

By Our Special Correspondent

JOHANNESBURG, OCT. 4. Sourav Ganguly has decided to lead by example, and his team that is on a short winning streak here, seems all set to take on the might of the formidable looking South Africa in the inaugural match of the Standard Bank tri- series at `The Wanderers' on Friday.

The Indian captain gave out a message on Thursday that was symptomatic of his aggressive disposition, though he has, on quite a few occasions crossed the limit to be penalised by Match Referees.

Two days ago he appeared clearly disappointed after returning from the clinic. Though there was not much concern following an X-ray report that had ruled out any fracture in his index finger of the right hand, his sombre countenance suggested that all was not well with his finger.

He had the index and middle fingers wrapped in plaster which was the best course to treat the ligament related injury. The immediate outcome of the injury was being forced to sit out of an important game against South Africa `A' in Benoni on Wednesday. Only he could have passed judgment on an internal injury and it was considerate of him to make a statement in Benoni that an injury of this nature would not keep him far removed from action in such an important game of the tri-series.

Ganguly could not have kept the decision about him playing hanging until the morning of the match. It was imperative that he take a firm decision on Thursday, which he did after going through a routine of throwing, taking catches with two hands and most importantly, batting in the nets. He consulted physio Andrew Leipus and announced that he would be in good health for the tri- series opener, which will be a day and night affair.

There is another school of thought that might have urged him not to risk and aggravate the injury, especially so because India has a long stay ahead in South Africa. But Ganguly was determined.

The Indian captain declaring himself fit was the best news on Thursday afternoon his teammates heard. He will now open the innings with Sachin Tendulkar after having opened with different partners in Sri Lanka in the Coca Cola Series there. The favourable decision has virtually delayed the appearance of Shiv Sundar Das in his first one-day International for the country.

Das had made 59 against Nicky Oppenheimer XI and his chances of getting a first match seemed brighter following the injury to Ganguly.

There's probably another motivating factor for Ganguly not to anguish over the finger injury. In India's last match against South Africa (he was the captain then also) in the ICC knock out in Nairobi last October, he had fashioned a fine win with a brilliant undefeated 141 that took India to the final.

Martin stakes claim

Moreover, his availability also means that there would be little scope for experimenting with a batting order which is more or less set, with Jacob Martin staking claims for a middle order position with an admirable show against South Africa `A' on Wednesday.

Martin is no rookie. He has played eight one-day Internationals in which he played one noteworthy innings of 39 against the West Indies in the DCM Cup in Toronto two years ago. His fortunes turned for the good following Baroda's Ranji Trophy triumph early this year. He went as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar, but did not play a match there. He is on this tour only because of injuries to Venkatsai Laxman and Hemang Badani. He, however, appears to be one batsman who has quickly adjusted to the conditions here. His half century made at a time when the South Africa `A' bowlers, Justin Kemp and Roger Telemachus, were in command, has impressed the team management.

The contest in the bowling department has been much less. Anil Kumble has virtually sealed his place in the team following his exemplary performance at Benoni. Any suggestion of playing a second spinner in Harbhajan Singh is likely to be entertained by the captain and coach only should one of the frontline seamers- Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad or Ajit Agarkar-fail miserably.

Agarkar's three wickets and a whirlwind 49 that won the match for the Indians against South Africa `A' has raised hopes of a better show from the Mumbai allrounder.

Fresh from their convincing win over neighbouring Zimbabwe in three one-day Internationals, Shaun Pollock's team has a formidable look about it. It enjoys a far superior record of 24 wins in the 38 matches the two teams have played each other. They are likely to leave out medium pacer Justin Kemp.

India's two wins against South Africa here have been at `The Centurion' and East London in the `Friendship Series' of 1992. Five years ago, India was lucky to make the final of the tri- series in which the third team was Zimbabwe.

What has lifted the confidence of the Indian team is the way it has prepared for this series and also the way it won the two warm-up games.

The pitch at `The Wanderers' was relaid two years ago, and since, according to reports, the surface has offered considerable bounce to the fast bowlers. But on Thursday no one had any clue as to how the pitch would behave.

The India-South Africa tri-series opener will be the first big match of the season, what with the domestic programme scheduled to start in the weekend.

The teams:

South Africa: (from) Shaun Pollock (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Jonty Rhodes, Mark Boucher, Claude Henderson, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Justin Kemp.

India: (from) Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Jacob Martin, Yuveraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Shiv Sundar Das, Harbhajan Singh, Harvinder Singh, Reetinder Singh Sodhi.

Umpires: Messrs Rudi Koertzen and Brian Jerling; Third Umpire: Barry Lambson; Match Referee: Mike Dennes.

Hours of play: (local time) 2.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; 6.40 p.m. onwards.

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