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India looks to regain winning rhythm
 Colombo, July 20: India go into the Super League stage of the Asia Cup cricket tournament with a match against minnows Bangladesh here tomorrow with their struggling top order batsmen trying to fall into groove before it is too late. Barring Rahul Dravid, none of the batsmen in the famed line-up looked in good nick after the three-month break and will be keen to find some form against their lowly opponents to gear up for the tougher challenges ahead.
The narrow defeat against Sri Lanka at Dambulla on Sunday could serve as a wake-up call for Sourav Ganguly and his men who have not shown the same class that saw them script some memorable wins in the past season. Though Bangladesh may not pose much of a threat, the Indians will look to plug their batting and bowling loopholes before facing stronger teams like arch-rivals Pakistan and Sri Lanka in their remaining matches.
 The injury to pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has also come as a big blow to the Indians who were looking up to the left-arm paceman to deliver the goods in the six-nation tournament. But the Baroda paceman has more often than not broken down during tours since the past season raising a big question mark on his fitness. Zaheer's absence should mark the return of Ashish Nehra in the side who has a better possibility of playing in the eleven than Harbhajan Singh, the off-spinner who has returned to the national side after seven months.
Bangladesh would miss the services of opener Javed Omar who looked impressive in the league stage scoring 68 against Hong Kong and 62 against Pakistan. Omar has pulled a hamstring and is a non-starter for tomorrow's game. Bangladesh is likely to retain Abdul Razzaq in the playing eleven despite the left-arm spinner being reported for suspect action after the match against Hong Kong. The team management feels there is nothing wrong with his bowling style and it has no intention of further diluting the limited strength. (Agencies)
Published: Thursday, July 20, 2004
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