Sans a sulking Saurav Ganguly, India will look up to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and stand-in skipper Rahul Dravid for providing the hosts a happy ending to the month-long series against Zimbabwe in the final One-Day International in Rajkot on Thursday. Slapped with a one-match ban for showing dissent and intimidating the umpire, Ganguly will be reduced to a mere spectator leaving Dravid to lead the side, which has already taken a 3-1 unassailable lead in the five-match series. Tendulkar and southpaw S Sriram will open the Indian batting - the only likely change in the top order from the side that beat the visitors in Kanpur.
"It will obviously be Sachin (Tendulkar) and sriram who will open the Indian batting after the unfortunate incident at Kanpur that has put Ganguly out of action," Dravid told reporters after net practice in Rajkot. "I don't have any pressure captaining the side as I know it is just a stop-gap adjustment for one match and secondly, the series has already been decided in our favour," he said.
Dravid, who was being tipped as future captain before Ganguly got the nod early this year, said it was an honour to lead India. "I will go all out to win tomorrow's game as India's track record on this ground has not been very good. We would like to improve the record with better performance," he said.
Bureau Report