Zaheer, Yuvraj to return for final

Undeterred by the defeat in the last match, India will try to draw inspiration from their splendid World Cup campaign and go into the TVS Cup tri-series final against South Africa, in Dhaka on Sunday, with a positive frame of mind.

The five-wicket defeat in the last match against the South Africans halted India's winning run in the tournament, but captain Sourav Ganguly insists that it will not dent the morale of his young team, which is eager to add one more title to its collection.

"I don't think it will affect our morale. We didn't play well enough to win the last game. It's a question of how you play on that particular day which matters. I am sure we will be able to lift our game tomorrow," Ganguly said.

The return of star performers Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh will bolster the team to a great extent, a fact which was acknowledged by the captain himself.

"We missed their services in the last match. There was a bit of inexperience in both the bowling and batting departments. But it gave the youngsters an opportunity to prove their worth," he said.

Both Zaheer and Yuvraj Singh had to sit out of the last two matches because of indisposition. While Zaheer suffered a slight hamstring injury in the match against South Africa last Sunday, Yuvraj was down with flu and the team management expects that the duo will be fit enough to take the field tomorrow.

With five seniors, including Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid opting out of the tour because of various reasons, the presence of Zaheer and Yuvraj will strengthen the team to a great extent and indications from the Indian camp suggests that both will play.

But there are other injury concerns to keep the Indians a trifle worried ahead of the summit showdown.

Vice-captain Virender Sehwag, who received a nasty blow on his right elbow from a Makhaya Ntini delivery yesterday, is still experiencing a lot of pain but is likely to play tomorrow.

A precautionary X-ray has showed there is no fracture. It prompted Sehwag to return to the crease and complete his innings. He also did not hesistate to put in as many as eight overs after the captain threw the ball to him to capitalise on the slow track.

Even off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has been carrying a finger injury for quite some time though it is still not serious enough to confine him to the dressing room. Since the Indians have a long break after this tournament, the players have decided to complete their engagements on this tour and then attend to their injury problems.

The South Africans have improved with every game and begun to get their combinations right, which could give the in-form Indians a run for their money.

Although captain Graeme Smith consideres the Indians as the "in-form team" going into the final, he wants his young team to gain from the confidence of having defeated the World Cup finalists yesterday.

"It was a very good victory. We are slowly getting things right. The batsmen and the bowlers have adapted to the conditions. It would be a keen competition," Smith, the youngest to captain South Africa till date, said.

"Our batsmen had some partnerships while the bowlers also put the ball in the right areas. We are slowly getting our combinations right which is good for the team. There is no reason why we can't beat the Indians if we keep improving," Smith said.

The Indians will be looking for a good start from openers Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, who did not have a particularly memorable match against the South Africans yesterday.

Gambhir, the young Delhi opener on his maiden trip with the senior team, had just one big knock of 71 in three innings, and will be keen to finish off the tour with a better record. He has the talent to do that and there can be no better stage to impress than the final.

Sehwag often has the tendency to throw away his wicket after getting the starts and the dashing opener will be hoping to make an impact despite the elbow injury.

Most of the other top oder Indian batsmen have had a few decent knocks behind them but it remains to be seen if they can deliver the goods when it matters the most.

The teams (from):

India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Ajit Agarkar, Parthiv Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Sarandeep Singh, Zaheer Khan, Aavishkar Salvi, Amit Mishra, Sanjay Bangar, Abhijit Kale.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Jaques Rudoplh, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Paul Adams, Allan Dawson, Andrew Hall, Makhaya Ntini, Charl Willoughy, Robin Peterson.

Umpires: Alim Dar (Pakistan) and Mahbub Rahman (Bangladesh).

Third umpire: Shawkatur Rahman (Bangladesh).

Match Referee: Clive Lloyd (West Indies).