Sriram may open with Tendulkar

Encouraged by the success of youngsters Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, India take on Zimababwe in a must-win situation on Thursday, to ensure a berth in the title match of the tri-nation series, by blooding one more newcomer, Sridharan Sriram.

An injury to Rahul Dravid has opened the vista for young Tamil Nadu all-rounder Sriram, who so far, both in Nairobi and Sharjah, has only been seen on the field in the form of a brilliant substitute fielder.

Sriram is also a fine batsman and quite a handy left-arm spinner. Skipper Sourav Ganguly is contemplating promoting him as an opener to accompany Sachin Tendulkar.

"It could be me or him," said Ganguly. "We need someone with a solid technique at the start of the innings."

Mohammad Kaif, who arrived on Wednesday morning as a replacement for Rahul Dravid, is unlikely to make it to the playing eleven for the crucial match.

Another player to benefit from an injury is left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi of Karnataka. A sore shoulder has more or less ruled out Anil Kumble and it will afford another chance to Joshi to display his skills with bat and ball.

Joshi, who played Sunday's game against Zimbabwe after Kumble was ruled out, impressed both with his bowling (1 for 44) and batting (19 off 13 balls).

Yet, if Kumble was fit, Ganguly has no doubt who would have been his first choice for Thursday's game. "There is little doubt I would have plumbed for Kumble - he is our number one spinner," Ganguly said.

Ganguly has repeatedly said in this tournament the reason why his team is winning is because the three medium-pacers, Ajit Agarkar, Venkatesh Prasad and Zaheer Khan are delivering.

The skipper, nevertheless, praised Joshi for his performance on Sunday. "Joshi played very well for his runs and he bowled excellently."

Ganguly has another player nursing an injury in the side and that is Vinod Kambli. "Vinod (Kambli) has a plaster on his left forearm but he should be fit for Thursday's game."

Zimbabwe will want to win this tie badly. Even if the win does not improve their chances for a berth in the finals, it will at least put them in a better frame of mind for the coming tour to India.

Zimbabwe have some useful batsmen but in terms of quality, only Andy Flower and Alistair Campbell, both former captains, have been able to deliver the goods.

Flower scored an unbeaten 120 and 63 in the first two games of the tournament and looks in very good touch.

Campbell, who sat out in the first game because of a one-match suspension handed out in Nairobi, had two successive scores in the 90s in a home series against New Zealand.

Zimbabwe's coach Carl Rackemann, is expecting his young wards to do well at least in the remaining matches.

It is up to them to seize their chances," Rackemann said.

The teams:

India: Sachin Tendulkar, Sridharan Sriram, Vinod Kambli, Sourav Ganguly (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Robin Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Sunil Joshi, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Venkatesh Prasad.

Zimbabwe (from): Douglas Marillier, Alistair Campbell, Dirk Viljoen, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Guy Whittall, Mark Vermuleon, Stuart Carlisle, Bryan Strang, Heath Streak (captain), Travis Friend and Paul Strang.

Mail Cricket Editor