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Ganguly eyes record as India bid for Windies whitewash

Kamil Zaheer

Saurav Ganguly will aim to equal the India record for most Test wins as captain by leading his side to a series sweep against West Indies in the third and final Test starting on Wednesday.

Victory over the struggling West Indies will secure Ganguly's 14th as captain and lift him level with Mohammad Azharuddin before his passionate home fans at the Eden Gardens.

India start favourites again after winning the series by going 2-0 up with huge victories in Bombay and Madras.

"We have been playing good cricket for the past 11-12 months. We want to keep it going," Ganguly told reporters on Tuesday.

"We will try our best to win it 3-0."

India registered their first innings victory over West Indies in Bombay and won the next by eight wickets, both lop-sided contests that ended midway through the fourth day.

The hosts also return to a venue where they stunned Australia last year after being asked to follow on, a result achieved only for the third time in Test history. They won that series 2-1.

The lethal spin duo of off-break bowler Harbhajan Singh and leg spinner Anil Kumble will hope to continue their domination of the visiting batsmen, having shared 28 wickets between them so far.

Ganguly said Ashish Nehra had been recalled as the second paceman alongside Javagal Srinath, with fellow left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan rested because of knee trouble.

JUNIORS EXCEL

The 23-year-old Nehra will play his first Test since the second game of a four-match England series which ended 1-1. It will be first competitive game after he tore webbing on his bowling hand at last month's Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka.

Ganguly praised his team's performances which have helped him move within one win of equalling the Indian captaincy record.

"It shows how well we're playing since I became captain," said Ganguly, who has won 13 of his 29 games as captain since taking over two years ago.

"The juniors have come up very well under my captaincy."

Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan have shone under him in tests as well as one-dayers, where newcomers Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh have added strength in depth to India's batting.

CARIBBEAN PRIDE

West Indies skipper Carl Hooper said his team will play for pride and try to avoid a third series rout in the sub-continent after defeats to Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

"It's basically about pride," he told reporters.

Hooper, who himself has struggled for runs on the tour, said his batsmen will have to tackle spin better and take their catches after flooring a dozen chances in the first two tests.

On tackling spin, he said: "We have either been giving too much respect to the spinners or indulging in too much strokeplay. We need to strike the right balance.

"We got to make three-figure scores."

West Indies have crossed 200 runs only once in four innings so far with Ramnaresh Sarwan's 78 in Madras the best individual effort.

He said it was time his young side began winning. "The transition phase has lasted three years. It's time for better results."

"Hopefully the youngsters will get better. Right now, we are chopping and changing."

Squads:

India - Saurav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Ashish Nehra.

West Indies (from) - Carl Hooper (captain), Wavell Hinds, Chris Gayle, Darren Ganga, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ryan Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Gareth Breese, Mahendra Nagamootoo.

Umpires - David Shepherd and Asoka De Silva. TV umpire: Arani Jayaprakash.

Match Referee - Mike Proctor.

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