November 06 Wednesday 2002
India eye another one-day crown sans Tendulkar

JAMSHEDPUR: India hope the absence of Sachin Tendulkar will not matter as they strive to build on their recent one-day success during a seven-match series against the West Indies from Wednesday.

The master batsman, whose 11,544 runs and 33 centuries are unmatched in limited-overs cricket, was rested from the series after he suffered a hamstring strain during his match-saving century in the Calcutta Test last week.

India have not lost a one-day series in the last 12 months and hope to continue that form leading up to the World Cup in southern Africa in February-March next year. In-form seamer Zaheer Khan has also been sidelined with a knee injury, leaving the Indians to test their reserve strength against the West Indies ahead of next month's tour of New Zealand.

"Injuries happen when we are playing so much, its better to accept that and get on with what we have," captain Sourav Ganguly said after practice at the Keenan stadium here on Tuesday.

India, who will once again rely on the dashing Virender Sehwag at the top of the order, have batsmen of the caliber of Rahul Dravid, Ganguly and Venkatsai Laxman to unsettle the West Indian bowlers. Young guns Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif will be making their first home appearance since leading India to a remarkable victory over England in the NatWest one-day final at Lord's in June.

All-rounder Ajit Agarkar may be pitchforked in the role of a pinch-hitter, Ganguly indicated, leaving Tendulkar's replacement Dinesh Mongia to carry the drinks. The West Indies, meanwhile, have put aside the 2-0 defeat in the Test series to go into the one-dayers with confidence after giving India a scare in the drawn final Test at Calcutta.

Carl Hooper's men had India pinned to the ropes for the first three days of the match before centuries by Tendulkar and Laxman helped the hosts wriggle out of an embarrassing defeat.

"I am delighted at the way we played in Calcutta and hope we can continue the good work in the one-dayers," said Hooper, whose side is without star batsman Brian Lara. Centuries from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels in the Calcutta Test bodes well for the West Indies, who have been bolstered by the return of one-day specialists Ricardo Powell, Vasbert Drakes and Corey Collymore.

The remaining one-dayers will be played in Nagpur (Nov 9), Rajkot (Nov 12), Ahmedabad (Nov 15), Baroda (Nov 18), Jodhpur (Nov 21) and Vijayawada (Nov 24).

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (capt), Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra, Sanjay Bangar, Ajit Agarkar, Jai Prakash Yadav.