India have a few hurdles to cross

Having stopped the mighty Australians at their 'final frontier' in the Test series, the Indians are looking to cap an extraordinary home series with a win in the one-dayers too when they take on the visitors in the series deciding fifth and final match in Margao tomorrow.

The Indians are up against not only a resurgent opposition after Australia levelled the series with a thumping win in Visakhapatnam, but also a negative track record at this venue, never having won at this ground.

India lost to Sri Lanka in 1990 and 1997 while a third match against New Zealand in 1994 was washed out due to rain. On the other hand, the Australians have won the only match they have played here, against Sri Lanka in 1989. That was also the first match at this venue.

However, coach John Wright was hardly perturbed by past records. "The Indians are geared up and I am sure they can do well here and break the jinx," Wright had said on the teams's arrival yesterday.

The manner in which both teams' fortunes have fluctuated with every match, it seems only fitting that the series will be decided in the final match which promises to be another cliff-hanger like the Test series-decider at Chennai.

Captain Sourav Ganguly, who has scored just 19 runs in the series so far, was the highest scorer for India the last time they played here and he would be hoping to finally come good here.

"I will be happy to equal my best score tomorrow," Ganguly told reporters today, referring to his 61 against Sri Lanka in 1997, after the team had net practice in the morning. He said there would be no changes in the batting order. "I will be opening with Sachin (Tendulkar) with (VVS) Laxman and Rahul Dravid to follow," he said.

The Indians are likely to strengthen their spin attack though with the inclusion of Sarandeep Singh, keeping in view the number of left-handers in the Aussie team. It was, however, still not clear who the Punjab off-spinner will replace.

The windy and cloudy conditions prevailing in this coastal city will be favourable to the fast bowlers and Ganguly said all the three Indian pacemen might be played.

"The three medium pacers have bowled very well in this series so far.... The wicket is wet and with cloudy conditions persisting for the second day today, I think it would be safe to play three fast bowlers," he said. "However, the final eleven will be announced only tomorrow after discussions with the selectors who are yet to arrive here," Ganguly added.

Though Ganguly played down the importance of the toss, the sides batting second have always struggled on this ground. "I don't think winning the toss would have much to do with outcome of the series as long as we tighten up our bowling and fielding which were found wanting in the last match at Visakhapatnam," he said.

"Winning tomorrow is very crucial and you will definitely see a much better performance from us," the Indian captain added.

The Australians are upbeat after their dominating performance in the previous match and are eyeing their final chance to redeem some pride, having seen the hosts outplay them on this tour after that dramatic turnaround in the Kolkata Test. With Ricky Ponting having found form their middle order, which was vulnerable against spin in the earlier matches, suddenly looks to have gained some solidity. Matthew Hayden capped his terrific form with his maiden century in the last match and would be hoping to complete 1000 runs on this tour tomorrow.

Though captain Steve Waugh has defended the rotation policy saying the team would persist with it, Australia can be expected to field their strongest eleven considering the high stakes involved in the game. With the climate favouring the medium pacers, it would not come as a surprise if they decide to play all their four seamers. The Australians will decide their final eleven tomorrow morning.

The teams (from): India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Hemang Badani, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Vijay Dahiya, Ajit Agarkar, Robin Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Sarandeep Singh.

Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Michael Bevan, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Shane Lee, Shane Warne, Nathan Bracken, Damien Fleming, Glen McGrath, Ian Harvey, Andrew Symonds.

Umpires: Francis Gomes and Subrato Porel (both Kolkata). Third umpire: K Murali (Tamil Nadu). Match Referee: Cammie Smith.