The Hindu : Sport : Men in Blue look to clinch the series

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Wednesday, Jan 31, 2007
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Men in Blue look to clinch the series

G. Viswanath

Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo doubtful starters for West Indies

— Photo: AP

LAST CHANCE: Chris Gayle (right), in a training session with Jerome Taylor, failed to click in the last two outings and would hope to come good in the final ODI for the West Indies before the World Cup.

Vadodara: Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara dwelt on the subject of going back to the basics to pick their respective teams for the ICC World Cup.

Lara was not sure if the `Man of the Match' at Chennai, Marlon Samuels, and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo would be fit to take the field in the final match of the Pepsi Cup, at the IPCL ground here on Wednesday.

Samuels has hurt the index finger of his right hand and was taken to the hospital for a precautionary X-ray while Bravo still has a slight niggle in his left shoulder after a collision with Umpire Suresh Shastri at Nagpur.

Psychological edge

Lara said that even without Shivnarine Chanderpaul his team pulled off a great win showing character and was capable of repeating it here to retain the psychological edge the West Indies has enjoyed over India in the recent past.

Dravid, on the other hand, threw first hints of those who are certain to find a place in the squad for the ICC World Cup in the West Indies.

After evaluating the performances of the players in the three previous matches and in consultation with coach Greg Chappell and the Chairman of Selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar, India's captain announced the 12 for the last match against the West Indies. S. Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina, who played in at least two matches, have been left out.

Left-arm seamer Irfan Pathan returns to the playing eleven after a short break from international cricket. Fast-medium bowler Munaf Patel's gentle run up to the bowling crease in the nets as against the speed produced by Irfan Pathan may not have pleased those involved in the selection of the Indian team.

Patel, however, earned some brownie points from Dravid, but a conclusive proof of his match fitness, after recovering from an ankle injury, would be known only after further scrutiny in the first two one-day internationals against Sri Lanka to be played at Kolkata and Rajkot. "Just watching Munaf in the nets today was good. We needed to find out whether he has come back fit and from what I've seen in the nets that's heartening.''

Strong response

Dravid responded strongly when asked about Pathan's return to the team. "The proof of the pudding will be in the eating. When Irfan goes out there and plays a few games and performs, only then will we know the clear picture. I'm just looking forward to him playing again. Bowling well and performing well, and these are important words, are critical to the balance of the team so we hope that he'll do that.''

Leading the series 2-1, Dravid's aim is to clinch it 3-1. The selection of the team for the World Cup was a topic that dominated the media conference. "We're getting closer to what we think is our best combination. It's also important for us to see how Yuvraj Singh shapes up. He was good in the last game, but we need to assess him further over the next two or three games," said the Indian skipper.

Lara said that to come here 1-2 was good. "It could have been 2-1 in our favour. It was a good effort to claw back in Chennai. It's a pertinent move forward considering that the World Cup is so close. I also think the spectators got what they wanted — entertainment — from this series. We are hoping to field our best eleven.

"It's quite difficult at this stage to say who are going to be in the semifinals of the World Cup, but I can guarantee that Australia are going to be there. Our team is also coming up well and we are quiet confident of our abilities," said the West Indies captain.

Rain threat

A sharp spell of rain on Monday evening rendered the practice pitches damp and consequently India's practice session was delayed by two hours on Tuesday.

The teams:

India (from 12): Rahul Dravid (captain), Sourav Ganguly, Robin Uthappa, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble and Irfan Pathan. Reserves: Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, S. Sreeesanth and Ramesh Powar.

West Indies (from): Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Runako Morton, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Jerome Taylor, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Rayad Emritt, Ian Bradshaw and Darren Powell.

Umpires: Billy Bowden and Amish Saheba; Third Umpire: Suresh Shastri; Fourth Umpire: Jasbir Singh; Match Referee: Alan Hurst.

Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and from 1.15 p.m. onwards.

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