Laxman to play in triseries final

Ashish Shukla

Going by their current form, and the inconsistency of the opposition, India look runaway favourites in Saturday's final of the triangular one-day series against the West Indies, as they aim to set recent history right.

India registered comprehensive victories in all their four league matches, with both Zimbabwe and West Indies hardly posing any challenge. All their players are in fine form and are bubbling with confidence.

But they lost the last three finals they featured in, after performing exceedingly well in the league matches in at least two of those tournaments. Captain Sourav Ganguly had exactly this in mind even as he expressed confidence with the team's preparation for the final.

"We have lost three finals in the recent past," he said, referring to the ICC Knock-out tournament in Nairobi last year, the subsequent Sharjah triangular series and the recent home series against Australia.

"We don't want to lose one more final this time," he said

On form and record, India seem to have a strong case this time. In both batting and bowling, they have outperformed their opposition by miles. And the fielding has seen tremendous improvement with the youngsters bringing in a lot of energy and vitality on the field.

On the other hand, the West Indies continue to look a poor imitation of their former self. The absence of Brian Lara has seen a shaky performance by the batsmen while the bowling is hardly formidable.

With the captain having regained his batting form, the famous troika comprising Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid is all set to fire on all cylinders in the final. Tendulkar and Dravid have been in ominous touch in this tournament though the latter has had a couple of soft dismissals for small scores.

V V S Laxman is ready to be included in the side having recovered from his finger injury and that should give a boost to the batting order, considering that his replacement Dinesh Mongia, though he got some runs, hasn't looked very comfortable at the number three slot.

Hemang Badani, who has shown much promise, has been dismissed cheaply a couple of times and the team will need a handsome contribution from him on the big stage.

The bowlers have done an admirable job on this tour with all the five coming up with impressive performances. After another good show in the last game, Debasish Mohanty looks a certainly for the final along with Asish Nehra, surely the best bowler for India on the Zimbabwe tour.

The third seamer's slot is up for grabs between Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Harvinder Singh but Zaheer looks to be the favourite considering his consistency in recent times.

The West Indies pace department has suffered a setback following the sidelining of Cameroon Cuffy for four weeks due to a fracture on his left foot.

Mervyn Dillon and Reon King have performed only in patches and it is their spinners Mahendra Nagamootoo and Neil McGarrel who have turned out comparitively better performances.

Among the batsmen, the bulk of the scoring in this tournament has been done by openers Darren Ganga and Chris Gayle and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs.

Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, the most experienced member of the team apart from captain Carl Hooper, has been unable to lend the solidity to the middle order that was expected of him and has got out cheaply till now. It will be important from the West Indies' point of view that he comes good in the final and ensures a good total.

Hooper himself has looked good though he has come in at pressure situations where all he was required to do was go for the big shots. He will once again be the key to his team putting up an impressive score.

Despite the absence of hosts Zimbabwe from the final, the match is a sold-out affair. The wicket looks favourable to the batsmen though it remains to be seen whether the side winning the toss likes to bat first or not.

Ganguly has won the toss on all four ocassions and every time he has sent in the opposition to bat. He would like to do it again, if only for continuity's sake, but it will be interesting to see how India fare if they are forced to bat first.

Mail Cricket Editor