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KOLKATA, Oct 29: Saurav Ganguly will aim to equal the India record for most Test wins as captain by leading his side to a series sweep against West Indies in the third and final Test starting Wednesday.
Victory over the struggling West Indies will secure Ganguly’s 14th as captain and lift him level with Mohammad Azharuddin before his passionate home fans at the Eden Gardens.
India start favourites again after winning the series by going 2-0 up with huge victories in Mumbai and Chennai.
“We have been playing good cricket for the past 11-12 months. We want to keep it going,” Ganguly told reporters Tuesday.
“We will try our best to win it 3-0.”
India registered their first innings victory over West Indies in Mumbai and won the next by eight wickets, both lop-sided contests that ended midway through the fourth day.
The hosts also return to a venue where they stunned Australia last year after being asked to follow on, a result achieved only for the third time in Test history. They won that series 2-1.
The lethal spin duo of off-break bowler Harbhajan Singh and leg-spinner Anil Kumble will hope to continue their domination of the visiting batsmen, having shared 28 wickets between them so far.
Ganguly said Ashish Nehra had been recalled as the second paceman alongside Javagal Srinath, with fellow left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan rested because of knee trouble.
The 23-year-old Nehra will play his first Test since the second game of a four-match England series which ended 1-1. West Indies skipper Carl Hooper said his team will play for pride and try to avoid a third series rout in the sub-continent after defeats to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
“It’s basically about pride,” he told reporters.
Hooper, who himself has struggled for runs on the tour, said his batsmen will have to tackle spin better and take their catches after flooring a dozen chances in the first two Tests.
On tackling spin, he said: “We have either been giving too much respect to the spinners or indulging in too much strokeplay. We need to strike the right balance.
Teams:
India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra.
West Indies (from): Carl Hooper (captain), Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle, Darren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Gareth Breese, Mahendra Nagamootoo.—Reuters
