HYDERABAD, March 15: India skipper Sourav Ganguly conceded Friday his team was under pressure to deliver in the fourth one-day international against Zimbabwe here.
The tourists lead the five-match series 2-1 following their emphatic six-wicket victory in the previous match at Cochin on Wednesday.
Ganguly’s Indians were severely criticised by the national selectors, who put off naming the squad for the upcoming tour of the West Indies.
“The selectors are angry at the way the team played and almost everyone has been put on notice. They want to see how the players perform in the last two games,” said Indian cricket board secretary Niranajan Shah.
“There could be drastic changes in the team for the West Indies if India lose the series against Zimbabwe,” he warned.
The squad for the West Indies tour, scheduled to be announced at Cochin, will now be selected on March 21 at Mumbai.
India will play five Tests and as many one-dayers on the West Indies tour, starting next month.
“It’s a do-or-die situation for us,” Ganguly said ahead of Saturday’s day-night encounter at the Lal Bahadur Stadium here.
India made three changes to the team that lost the last match, including left-arm spinner Murali Kartik and all-rounders Yuvraj Singh and Vijay Bhardwaj.
Leg-spinner Anil Kumble was rested for the last two one-dayers against the tourists because of a shoulder injury, while opener Shiv Sunder Das and off-spinner Sarandeep Singh were dropped.
Top Zimbabwean batsman Andy Flower is likely to return to the squad after missing the last match due to a hip muscle strain.
CARLISLE DEMANDS RESPECT: Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle complained on Friday that his side were not being given the respect their performances merited.
“We also deserve credit. Whenever Zimbabwe win, a one-day international or test, people always find fault with the opposing team,” Carlisle told reporters on the eve of the fourth one-day international against India.
“It is high time Zimbabwe got the credit for winning,” he said on being asked whether his side’s six-wicket victory in the third game on Wednesday came about because of India’s complacency.
Domestic media criticised the Indian team’s batting after they were dismissed for a modest 191.
Zimbabwe went on to take a 2-1 lead and are one win away from clinching the five-game series with two matches left.
Zimbabwe players have often shown sparks of brilliance, but have struggled for consistency over longer periods.
They have caused major upsets, winning a test series in Pakistan and beating India and eventual runners-up South Africa in group games in the 1999 World Cup in England.
Carlisle said his side was showing gradual improvement after suffering a 3-0 test series rout in Sri Lanka late last year.
“We had to face someone like (off-spinner Muttiah) Muralitharan, who took 30 wickets. Without him the series would have been different,” he said, adding that a strict fitness regime over the last three months was beginning to show results.
“We seem to be coming together, but there is still a long way to go,” Carlisle said.
India swept the preceding test series 2-0, though Zimbabwe bounced back from losing the first game by an innings and 101 runs to rattle the hosts before losing the second by four wickets.
India (from): Sourav Ganguly (capt), Rahul Dravid, Venkatsai Laxman, Dinesh Mongia, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Sanjay Bangar, Harbhajan Singh, Murali Kartik, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Ajay Ratra, Vijay Bhardwaj, Tinu Yohannan.
Zimbabwe (from): Stuart Carlisle (capt), Heath Streak, Alistair Campbell, Dion Ebrahim, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Travis Friend, Tatenda Taibu, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Craig Wishart, Gary Brent, Douglas Marillier, Charles Coventry, Douglas Hondo.
Umpires: K. Hariharan (Ind) and M. S. Mahal (Ind)
Match-referee: John Reid (Nzl).—AFP/Reuters