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Akram, Akhtar likely for return match

As the Coca Cola Cup tri-series enters its second phase, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and his men are bracing up for a repeat win against Pakistan tomorrow to ensure a berth in the final of the tournament.

The second clash of the subcontinental rivals is crucial for the Moin Khan-led Pakistan to stay alive in the championship after defeats against India, by five wickets, and South Africa, by three wickets, in the first round of the league. An Indian victory tomorrow will banish Pakistan from the series. And, going by the trend thus far, to bet on Ganguly and Co. should be reasonably safe.

After a string of matches, starting with the home series against the South Africans and two consecutive outings here, the Indians had a two-day breather to recharge their batteries. That rest should have given them enough power to take on the Pakistanis for whom inexperience is the primary bane which Moin Khan and coach Javed Miandad are trying hard to overcome.

Added to it is the groin injuries of strike bowlers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar, which forced them to sit out of the match against South Africa.

''The injuries are not very grave and we hope they will be able to play against India,'' Moin said after the defeat against the Proteas.

Moin is leading the side at a difficult time when Pakistan are without the services of key players like Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed and off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq. Anwar, for whom Sharjah is the favourite hunting ground and Indian bowlers his main fodder, missed the tournament due to a neck injury while Ijaz has not been in good nick and was dropped.

Pakistan have reportedly sought the recall of ace off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and seasoned campaigner Aamir Sohail to fill the opening slot where Shahid Afridi failed miserably in the last two matches. Imran Nazir, who though got runs while opening with Afridi, lacks the requisite international exposure to adapt his batting as per the demands of the situation.

India started off with a humiliating ten-wicket loss to the South Africans in the inaugural tie mainly because of some poor batting. Only Jadeja (43 not out) stayed put. But for his association with Srinath (30) for the last wicket, the total would not have reached even 164, after having been reduced to 102 for 9. Later, the Indian attack looked too pedestrian to trouble the batsmen.

In the second match, Ganguly brought in Venkatesh Prasad in place of Javagal Srinath and the bowler obliged with two vital wickets including a breakthrough off his very first ball. Srinath has had a bad patch in the last few matches and his exclusion from the side perhaps could be attributed to his non-performance rather than ''injury'' as spelt out by the team management for consumption of the media.

The bowlers rose to the occasion to keep a tight leash on the Pakistani batsmen and they were roundly complemented by the Indian ground fielding which reduced Pakistan to 146 all out. Mohammad Azharuddin came up with his wristy strokes to score 54 and the Indians romped home without much difficulty.

It is quite unlikely that the Indian captain will effect any changes in the side for tomorrow's crucial encounter. After the nets this morning, the Indian skipper gave an indication to this effect maintaining, ''Srinath will take a couple of days to come out of his groin injury.''

The Indian batsmen chased tall scores back home (twice 300-plus) in the 2-1 win against South Africa and have to live upto their newfound reputation of working in tandem instead of relying on individual knocks. The large Indian community here is also in anticipation of watching Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly a bit longer at the crease.

UNI