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| November 16, 2001 | Friday | Shaba'an 29, 1422 |
India face selection posers ahead of second Test
PORT ELIZABETH, Nov 15: India, who have never won a Test match in South Africa, face important selection decisions for the second Test starting in Port Elizabeth Friday.
The visitors, who lost the first game of the three-Test series by nine wickets in Bloemfontein, must decide whether to field three seamers or two spinners.
They also have to settle on an opening pair as they bid to stay in the series by winning their first Test in nine played on South African soil.
While the home side are unlikely to change their triumphant line-up from Bloemfontein, despite naming the in-form batsman Jacques Rudolph in their 12, India have lost out on much-needed match practice.
Saturated grounds led to the abandonment of the first two tour first-class matches of their tour without a ball being bowled.
On the bowling front, India’s choice would seem to lie between picking both off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and leg-spinner Anil Kumble, or to stick only with Harbhajan.
South African coach Graham Ford said his team was not concerned about facing for the first time in a Test the match-winning Harbhajan, who has taken 65 wickets in 16 games.
“We’ve seen him (Harbhajan) in the one-dayers, and we’ve got video footage on him,” Ford told reporters Thursday. “So we’ve got a reasonable idea of what he’s about.
“But we have handled quality spinners reasonably well. So I don’t think the guys are particularly fazed. Whoever plays, they are going to have some quality bowlers who are all capable of doing the job. We’ve just got to be able to adjust on the day.”
India are also considering whether to use captain Saurav Ganguly to open the innings with Shiv Sunder Das. Ganguly has top order experience, but is well established in the middle order.
India’s other opening options are Connor Williams, Vangipurappu Laxman and Rahul Dravid.
But Williams is uncapped, Laxman is usually preferred to bolster the India middle order and Dravid, who opened in the first Test for scores of two and 11, is reportedly reluctant to continue in the role.
The South African coach, meanwhile, relished the prospect of his team’s superior pace attack exploiting a potentially responsive pitch.
“We feel that we like to play on pitches that have pace and bounce,” Ford said. “Those are the Tests that go forward quickly, and there’s lots of action and it’s exciting. I think that’s what cricket needs right now.
“It looks as though this pitch will give us that, but I suppose the weather could play its part depending on how much sunshine we get before the match.”
Ford sang the praises of uncapped opening batsman Jacques Rudolph, who has scored three centuries in four matches in South Africa’s domestic first-class competition as well as another century against the touring Indians in the opening match of their tour.
“He’s played brilliantly and he deserves to be part of the set up,” Ford said.
“If he does play, I think he’s right up at this level of cricket and he’s ready to take it on. If he doesn’t play, it’s an opportunity for him to settle into a new team environment.”
Ford said he was by no means complacent after South Africa’s comfortable victory in the Bloemfontein series opener.
“The first Test was very tight the whole way through,” he said.
“At the end of day three (when India were 88 runs behind with nine second innings wickets in hand), it was still anybody’s game, and India have shown that they are capable fighting all the way and turning matches around.”
Teams (from):
South Africa: Shaun Pollock (captain), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Boeta Dippenaar, Lance Klusener, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Mornantau Hayward, Makhaya Ntini, Jacques Rudolph.
India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Shiv Sunder Das, Rahul Dravid, Vangipurappu Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Deep Dasgupta, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Ashish Nehra, Venkatash Prasad, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Connor Williams.
Umpires: Ian Howell (South Africa) and Russell Tiffin (Zimbabwe).
TV umpire: Rudi Koertzen.
Match referee: Mike Denness (England).—Reuters/AFP
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