Srinath to miss third Australia Test

Paceman Javagal Srinath has been ruled out of the third Test against Australia, which starts in Madras on Sunday, India's captain Saurav Ganguly said on Saturday.

Srinath, who also missed the second Test, fractured the index finger of his right hand during the first Test at Bombay when he was struck by a delivery from Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie.

"Sri is out," Ganguly told reporters on Saturday.

"He's fit enough to bowl but not fit enough to catch and probably not fit enough to bat either. The injury has healed but we don't want to take a risk," he added.

Fast bowler Zaheer Khan is again expected to lead the bowling attack in the absence of Srinath, whose place in the squad of 14 has been taken by swing bowler Debasish Mohanty.

Ganguly said the team management would later on Saturday also take a decision on whether to play the injured wicketkeeper Nayan Mongia.

Mongia was struck on his nose by a sharply rising delivery on the final day of the second Test as India pushed for victory.

He returned to keep in the final phase of play but Indian selectors have already drafted in Bombay's Sameer Dighe as a standby.

India lost the Bombay Test by 10 wickets but hit back with a spectacular 171-run win at Calcutta to level the three-Test series and stop Australia's record winning streak at 16.

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