Ganguly in crunch situation: Symcox

Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly is going to face a make or break situation with the current South African tour, according to veteran South African cricketer Pat Symcox.

"Sourav Ganguly has finally come to the point in his cricketing career when he no longer will be able to talk a good game and not perform," Symcox wrote in his weekly column - 'Spinning Tales' - in the daily Citizen , adding that Ganguly's captaincy has been questionable in the recent past.

"The fact that his batting talents cannot be relied on in times of crisis has not helped the Indian cause," Symcox said.

"When playing at home Ganguly is in command of many issues and is on comfortable territory with the bouncing ball doing just nicely for him to drive.

"In South Africa, Donald, Pollock, Ngam, Ntini and Kallis will target him, like never before - and it will test his inner soul to the very core.

"They will hunt him like a pack at every opportunity and either it will make him or send him home in disgrace."

Symcox said he expected the South Africans to post huge totals against the Indian side.

"As I see it, the South Africans have an awesome batting side and will be able to post huge totals. The Indians will only be as competitive as their bowlers allow them to be," said Symcox.

Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, the two spinners, have been great performers on the dust bowls of India. In South Africa, however, the spinner is not the main striker, he said.

"Srinath has been out here before and loved bowling in conditions that are conducive to swing and seam. South Africans rate him very highly and therefore will target him when he gets a chance to bat," he said.

"Prasad and Agarkar had also better sharpen up on batting off the back-foot, as the only drive they will probably get will be in the bus to and from the hotel," Symcox quipped.

Symcox also commented on the differences of the South African ball.

"An aspect that is often overlooked by teams from the Indian subcontinent is the fact that the ball used is a Kookaburra and is very different in feel to the ball used in India. The spinners always battle to gain the same amount of spin and reverse swing is very rare.

"The Indian coach, John Wright, has never played in South Africa and will need to be a on a fast learning curve," he added.

"Also we must remember that the Hansie Cronje saga has not been forgotten by the South African public and it was intricately linked in the media to the last Indian tour. So with this in mind, access to players and certainly the captain, will be closely monitored," Symcox said.

But Symcox was not only negative about the Indian team and its chances in the Test matches and triangular series with Kenya over the next two months.

He said: "The Indian team has, by and large, been a very friendly and approachable bunch of guys."

--Indo-Asian News Service

Mail Cricket Editor