13 Feb 2010

Smith in doubt for next India-SA test

SOUTH Africa captain Graeme Smith is in doubt for the second test

against India starting tomorrow, with the visitors needing only a draw to clinch

a series victory and reclaim top spot in the world test rankings.

Smith injured the little finger on his left hand during catching

practice yesterday. A scan showed ligament damage that could threaten his

participation in the Eden Gardens test.

“There has been considerable swelling,” media spokesman Michael

Owen-Smith said. “We have to wait for the next 24 hours to see how things

are.”

Smith was expected to test out the injury at a net session

today.

South Africa won the first test at Nagpur by an innings and six

runs, but India will be strengthened by the return of some players from injury

for the upcoming test.

V.V.S. Laxman, who was a late withdrawal from the series opener,

will be back, while pace bowler S.Sreesanth was included in the 15-man squad

named today, along with Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina.

Those making way from the first test’s 15-man squad were

wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha and the pace duo of Sudip Tyagi and

Abhimanyu Mithun.

South Africa thought the wicket at Eden Gardens would suit the

Indian spinners while negating its own pacemen led by Dale Steyn, but ground

curator Prabir Mukherjee said the “wicket will be a sporting one – it would last

for five days”.

Mukherjee denied that he received any official instruction to make

the pitch a turning one to help India’s chances of victory.

Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB)

which oversees Calcutta matches, said “even if any instructions do come it is

not possible to change the nature of the pitch overnight.”

A draw will be of no benefit to India, whose current hold on the

No.1 ICC ranking was under severe threat.

“We have got no choice but to go for a win,” India captain Mahendra

Singh Dhoni said.

Squads:

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender

Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman,

Subramanium Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan, S.Sreesanth,

Ishant Sharma, Pragyan Ozha, Dinesh Karthik and Suresh Raina.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Hashim

Amla, Ashwell Prince, A.B. de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Jean-Paul Duminy, Alviro

Petersen, Mark Boucher, Paul Harris, Johan Botha, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel,

Wayne Parnell, Dale Steyn and Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

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