Upbeat India looks to wrap up two-Test series

FAKIR BALAJI

BANGALORE - After a sensational win in the first Test at Mohali, an upbeat India is keen on maintaining the pressure on the Australians in the second and last Test, beginning here Saturday, to sweep the current series and claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is betting on the promising Chennai lad Murali Vijay and Kerala seamer Shantakumaran Sreeshanth in place of opener Gautam Gambhir and pacer Ishant Sharma both of whom were injured at Mohali.

As for V. V. Laxman’s back spasms he suffered in Bangalore, the skipper said though he was recovering, his availability would be known only tomorrow morning.

“Though he seems to be fit, we don’t want to take a chance as it is a five-day match and we cannot put undue pressure on him,” Dhoni said.

Ponting, however, made it clear that he would not allow Laxman to have a runner again as in the last Test when the stylish Hyderabad batsman scored an unbeaten 73 in the second innings and saw India cruise through the match.

“I expect him to play. But will have to run between the wickets. You can’t always come into a match with injuries and then ask for a runner,” Ponting said.

Clarifying that his team was not unduly worried about Laxman’s presence in the team, Ponting said with the kind of strong batting line-up India has, it was hard to overlook others like (Virender) Sehwag, Sachin (Tendulkar) and (Rahul) Dravid.

“Every Indian batsman is tough on these familiar conditions. Until you get all of them out, you aren’t sure. They showed how dangerous they can be at Mohali,” Ponting added.

The once mighty Australia, though down 0-1, are raring to go all-out to square the series, as evident from the body language of its defiant skipper Ricky Pointing at the nets at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in city centre.

“We will play with the same intensity as we did in Mohali and use all the resources to level the series,” Ponting told reporters Friday after a two-hour-long practice session.

Though the Bangalore pitch has been lucky for India against Australia, as it won two of the four Tests played here and drew the other two over the years, Dhoni admitted that they needed to improve in a few areas.

“We need to improve a lot in a few areas, especially in fielding as we cannot afford to give away too many runs with the new ball and not lose wickets when chasing the target,” Dhoni said at a news conference after the Indian team’s practice at the nets.

Recalling the adage ‘catches win matches’, Dhoni said that the mantra of ‘don’t drop a catch’ continued to hold good.

“Not dropping catches still holds strong. Similarly, stopping singles and running between the wickets are equally important as they can change the course of the game,” the wicketkeeper pointed out.

Australian left-arm fast bowler Doug Bollinger is doubtful to play as he had not recovered from a side