India v Australia, 3rd ODI, Hyderabad

Decision on Ganguly to be taken after practice session

George Binoy in Hyderabad

October 3, 2007

Sourav Ganguly missed the second ODI due to a strained hamstring © Getty Images

Rain ruined the first ODI in Bangalore and nearly crashed the party at Kochi as well before the skies cleared and allowed Australia to take a 1-0 lead in the seven-match series. The one-day caravan is now parked in Hyderabad where, although there have been showers during the past week, the weather is currently warm and dry and the forecast for Friday is for more of the same.

The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, which replaced the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium as Hyderabad's international venue, is situated at Uppal, a fair distance from the city centre. The roads that lead to the ground are dusty and under construction which makes the journey difficult. Much like the task India face against formidable opponents determined to show the Twenty20 winners who the real champions are.

Both teams arrived in Hyderabad this afternoon and the majority of the players did not practice. Ricky Ponting, who suffered a hamstring strain during the ICC World Twenty20 and missed the first two ODIs, had a light workout at the ground.

India too will take a decision on Sourav Ganguly's fitness after a practice session tomorrow morning. He missed the second ODI because of a strained hamstring and if he has recovered either Gautam Gambhir or Robin Uthappa is likely make way for him.

The third one-dayer is of immense importance for India in the context of the series. Win and they will draw level with Australia, lose and they will need to win an improbable four games in a row to clinch the series. Australia batted first twice, overcame top-order hiccups and took advantage of India's middle-over bowlers to score more than 300 in both Bangalore and Kochi. Unlike those venues, there is little international evidence to pass judgment on how the pitch will play in Hyderabad.

The stadium is a work in progress. Large swathes of the stands are without paint and the numerous iron rods and scaffolding indicate that it's far from completion

India lost the only ODI played here by five wickets to South Africa in November 2005. On that occasion, the South African fast bowlers extracted appreciable seam movement and bounce and reduced India to 35 for 5 before a century from Yuvraj Singh led them to 249. The pitch eased up as the day progressed and South Africa completed the chase with seven balls to spare. Come Friday and it's an early start at 9.00am local time. Whether that will offer significant assistance to the team bowling first, and whether it will ease out like it did in 2005, remains to be seen.

The stadium is a work in progress. Large parts of the stands are unpainted and the numerous iron rods and scaffolding indicate that it's far from completion. Painters were at work over the main entrance to give it a feel of readiness. The stands at either end of the ground are finished though and the two-tier structure gives the venue an impressive look. The outfield is lush green and the boundaries aren't small either.

The security personnel were out in sizable numbers, going through their drills and they'll have plenty on their plate once a full house that is expected gets in on Friday. It won't be easy on the fans. The long journey to the stadium will be followed by a thorough security check and 100 overs under the mid-day sun in roofless stands. Here's hoping they get a terrific game.

George Binoy is an editorial assistant on Cricinfo

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