Mushtaq, Malik may miss inaugural Asian Test match

The historic Eden Gardens provides the perfect stage for the high-voltage drama to unfold and Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin would be hoping that the ground, which has witnessed many glorious moments in Indian cricket history, would prove lucky again.

But more than the luck factor, the Indians have to play to their full potential to counter Pakistan who do have the bowling resources to rock the hosts and embarrass them in front of their home crowd.

The complete recovery of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar from the back injury has served as amorale-booster for the Indians determined to launch their Asian Test Championship campaign on a triumphant note.

Unlike the Indians, Pakistan have been plagued by injury problems to some of the senior players like Salim Malik, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed which has come as a big jolt on the eve of the crucial encounter.

Leg spinner Mushtaq Ahmed has been ruled out because of a stiff neck and off spinner Arshad Khan has already flown in from Lahore as his replacement.

The veteran Salim Malik, the most experienced of the Pakistani batsmen, was down with viral fever while Inzamam hit against the roof of the bus while boarding at the airport yesterday and hurt his neck.

Haq was taken to a city nursing home late last night and an X-ray did not reveal any injury which should mean that the burly middle order batsman would take the field on the morrow.

The Pakistan think tank have preferred to wait till tomorrow before announcing their playing eleven, giving their injured players more time to recoverand prove their fitness.

The Indians were likely to retain the same team that scripted the resounding 212-run victory against Pakistan in the Delhi test which saw leg spinner Anil Kumble steal the headlines with his monumental feat of capturing all ten wickets in an innings.

The Indians have been known to be a formidable side at home but the fact that some batsmen and bowlers, in times of crisis, have not played match-winning roles has been a little disturbing for the team management.

Despite having a number of talented players in their ranks, the Indians have tended to rely too much on Tendulkar and Kumble and it was time that other players contributed in a bigger way to lessen the load on the star duo.

India had their moments of glory in some historic wins against Pakistan, but often the hosts have succumbed when the contests have been close and it was this aspect that would keep coach Anshuman Gaekawd a little bit worried.

Though the Indians have put up a brave front, wily off-spinner SaqlainMushtaq tormented the much-vaunted Indian batting line up in both the matches of the Test series and the home team would have to be more positive in tackling him.

India’s new opening combination of Sadagopan Ramesh and VVS Laxman have given a couple of decent starts but Laxman has not been able to build up his knock after getting his eye in.

While the left-handed Ramesh has grabbed the opportunity with both hands almost scoring a century at Delhi, Laxman was yet to stitch a substantial score. The pair have to give a solid start to ease the pressure on the middle order batsmen.

For captain Azharuddin, the Eden Gardens has proved to be a happy hunting ground and he would be hoping that his “dream ground” would inspire another magical knock from his bat.

Local star Saurav Ganguly and the reliable Rahul Dravid have given ample display of their class in recent years but it remains to be seen how they fare in the surcharged atmosphere of the Eden Gardens.

The Pakistani batting has also not shown thedesired consistency on the spinning tracks during the Test series though their batsmen have the talent and temperament to play long innings.

While the unorthodox Shahid Afridi slammed his maiden Test ton in the Chennai Test, his senior opening partner Saeed Anwar has struggled to find the runs on the tour so far. His half century in the second innings of the Delhi Test should lift his confidence.

Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam, Yousuf Youhana, Malik and Moin Khan have not really excelled with the bat so far and coach Javed Mianded would be hoping for more substantial contributions from them.

Pakistan appear to have more variety in their bowling attack with captain and spearhead Wasim Akram opening the bowling with famed Waqar Younis. Saqlain’s guiles and variety has been more than a handful for the Indians.

Fresh from his ten-wicket haul achievement, Kumble and paceman Javagal Srinath would have to shoulder the bowling load for the Indians on a pitch which looks firm.

The Asian Test championship, a brainchildof International Cricket Council president, Jagmohan Dalmiya, is seen as the torchbearer for the World Test Championship and its points system has given a touch of novelty to the longer version of the game.

The team winning a match in the championship would be awarded 12 points while in case of drawn match no points would be awarded to any team, except for bonus points earned in batting and bowling in the first 100 overs.

Security arrangements have been tightened in and aroundthe eden gardens to ensure that no untoward incident took place during the five days.

The Teams

India (from): Mohammed Azharuddin (capt), S Ramesh, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Venkatesh Prasad, Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Joshi, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

Pakistan (from): Wasim Akram (capt), Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Salim Malik, Moin Khan, Arshad Khan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, NadeemKhan, Azhar Mehmood, Shoaib Akhtar.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WI) and David Orchard (SA).

Third umpire: KT Francis (Sri Lanka)

Hours of play: 0930 to 1130 hours, 1210 to 1410 hours,and 1430 to 1630 hours.