India looks to forget debacle

By Our Special Correspondent

EAST LONDON, OCT. 18. Indian cricket gave three performing players a day off on Wednesday and paid a heavy price for it.

The Indians play close to 40 one-day Internationals in 12 months, but were beaten by 70 runs on a good batting track at Port Elizabeth, by a side which has played 41 internationals in five years and which has asked for infrastructure support from the ICC.

The massive defeat came as a rude shock for the Indian captain, Sourav Ganguly. He put things in the right perspective saying, ``We have two matches to play now and both are crucial. I hope we will put this behind us and perform better. The defeat was like a kick on the backside for all the players.''

The second defeat in four matches of the Standard Bank Summer Spice series must have had an off putting effect on the team. Ganguly's face said it all at the press conference on Wednesday night. Victories against South Africa at `The Centurion' and against Kenya at the Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein had come following some fine batting and bowling performances. The Indians came to Port Elizabeth in order to cement their place in the final. But the Kenyans as a team raised their level of play to jolt the Indians. More than 24 hours before the day/night match at the St. George's Park, Ganguly, while talking about the composition of the team for the match against Kenya, had said: ``It's not a question of whom to pick, but whom to drop.'' He is not likely to speak in the same vein again.

The Indian team management will have to think afresh or review the policy of rotating players. It is good to think of `giving opportunities' to the reserves, but as they found out against the Kenyans after making three changes, the move, made with good intentions, back fired. The team management might have just erred in resting all the three in Srinath, Agarkar and Sehwag.

India's coach Wright ruled out thoughts of having taken Kenya not so seriously. ``We had a good workout and a live run in preparation for the game. I think that itself showed we were not underrating any opposition. Certainly, that was the purpose in working hard in the lead up to this match.''

While Srinath, Agarkar and Sehwag will return for the third and final match against the home team in the tri-series, there is speculation of fast bowler Mornantau Hayward playing his first match for South Africa at the Buffalo Park here on Friday. He has been added as the 15th member of the squad. In the only match he has played against the Indians on the tour, for Nicky Oppenheimer XI, Hayward damaged Ganguly's finger and had Tendulkar leg before at Randjesfontein.

South Africa is fortunate to have an adequate bench strength in the absence of Allan Donald and Mfuneko Ngam. Apart from Pollock, South Africa has a variety of bowlers in Nel, Ntini, Kemp, Klusener, Hayward and Kallis. Obviously the South African selectors are keen on giving Hayward a role in the Test series, if Donald and Ngam are not available. The Indians made 279 and 233 at `The Wanderers' and at `The Centurion'. So there is hope that they will do well again.

The teams:

India (from): S. Ganguly (Capt.), S.R. Tendulkar, Jacob Martin, Rahul Dravid, Yuveraj Singh, Virendra Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, S.S. Das, R.S. Sodhi, Venkatesh Prasad and Harvinder Singh.

South Africa (from): Shaun Pollock (Capt), Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Jonty Rhodes, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Mornantau Hayward, Andrew Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Nicky Boje, Charl Langeveldt, Boeta Dippenaar and Justin Kemp.

Umpires: Messrs Rudi Koertzen and Ian Howell; Third umpire: Craig Schoof; Match Referee: Ahmed Ebrahim.

Hours of play (IST): 6 p.m. to 9-30 p.m.; 10-15 p.m. onwards.

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