Harbhajan146;s return boosts India

The return of Harbhajan Singh and the injury to Mahendra Nagamooto may well prove to be the decisive factor as India and West Indies go into...

The return of Harbhajan Singh and the injury to Mahendra Nagamooto may well prove to be the decisive factor as India and West Indies go into the second cricket Test here tomorrow.

Off-spinner Harbhajan, who missed the first Test due to a shoulder injury, is fit and almost certain to be back in the Indian side which will be a tremendous boost to their chances.

But West Indies realised to their dismay yesterday that their most reliable leg-spinner had sustained a hamstring injury while fielding during the first Test.

TEAMS

India: from Saurav Ganguly capt, Shiv Sunder Das, Deep Dasgupta, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Ajay Ratra, Wasim Jaffer, Dinesh Mongia, Sanjay Bangar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Tinu Yohannan, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan

West Indies: from Carl Hooper capt, Stuart Williams, Chris Gayle, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarawan, Ryan Hinds, Junior Murray, C Cuffy, Adam Sanford, Mervyn Dillon, Marlon Black, M Nagamootoo and D Ramnaraine

Umpires: Asoka de Silva Sri Lanka and Daryl Harper Australia. Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle

Though Nagamootoo has not yet been ruled out for the match, West Indies have announced that fellow leggie Dinanath Ramnarine would replace him in case he did not report fit in time.

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Both developments augur well for India who have another reason to feel good about their prospects. They have won only two Tests on West Indian soil and both those victories have come at this venue.

Chasing their first Test series win outside the sub-continent in 16 years, India probably could not have asked for more positives before the match.

Even otherwise, the Indians would not be entirely unhappy with their performance in the rain-interrupted Georgetown Test which ended in a tame draw. Though they did concede a huge total of 501 runs including a double century from West Indian captain Carl Hooper, India were able to fight back thanks to a splendid knock from Rahul Dravid.

Playing with a lot of patience and determination, Dravid once again showed why he is one of the most successful Indian batsmen on wickets abroad. His knock was also a reminder to the other Indian batsmen that once they guard against making mistakes, they too can play long innings. The West Indian bowling attack is hardly threatening.

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There may be a change yet again in the opening slot with wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta most likely to be dropped for this game.

All-rounder Sanjay Bangar will open the innings with Shiv Sunder Das in such a case while Ajay Ratra will make his Test debut. Being a regular opener for his domestic side Railways, Bangar is probably more qualified than Dasgupta for this slot but it remains to be seen how he fares at this level. PTI