L Balaji to replace
Nehra in 5th ODI
V Veerkumar in Vadodara
Encouraged by the performance of their young brigade, India have decided to give a look-in to the uncapped L Balaji when they take on West Indies on Monday in the crucial fifth ODI at Vadodara.
Balaji is a right-arm seamier from Tamil Nadir.
With left-arm seamer Ashish Nehra not making much of an impact on the free-stroking West Indian batsmen in the fourth match at Ahmedabad, the Indian think-tank is keen to try out different combinations prior to next year's World Cup.
"We will play Balaji in place of Nehra," skipper Sourav Ganguly said, naming the only change in the team that pulled off a stunning victory in the fourth ODI at Ahmedabad.
The seven-match series is interestingly poised at 2-2 and with the teams matching each other in strength, Sunday's outing promises to be another thriller of a contest.
The match has generated renewed public interest after the home team stormed back in style, winning the third and fourth ODIs after losing the first two at Jamshedpur and Nagpur.
India's stupendous five-wicket win at Ahmedabad was just what was needed to wipe out the bad memories of crowd trouble that marred the first three matches.
That it was incident-free and India successfully chased a mammoth 324 made the Ahmedabad match a memorable one for the players and fans.
With the kind of security in place in Vadodara, the fifth ODI is also expected to pass off smoothly.
Mail Cricket Editor
