Published Fri, Feb 05 10 03:05 PM
S S Ramaswamy Nagpur, Feb 5 (PTI) It will be a battle for world supremacy when an injury-hit India, determined to protect its number one Test team''s status, takes on second-placed South Africa in the first of the two-match series starting here tomorrow. While a series victory will consolidate India''s position at the top of the ICC Test ranking, even a drawn series would be enough for the hosts to retain their top slot which would entitle them to USD 175,000 and the coveted ICC Test Championship mace. However, the team under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, which has an enviable record at home, goes into the contest with their middle order in disarray, following injuries to the dependable Rahul Dravid and the dashing Yuvraj Singh, both of whom have been ruled out of the series. The cheekbone fracture which Dravid sustained during the Bangladesh tour, has created a rare void at the number three position as the right-hander has missed only one Test, previous to this one, since his 1996 debut. To make matters worse, there is also uncertainty over seasoned middle-order batsman VVS Laxman who, even though named in the squad, is yet to recover completely from the finger injury sustained in Bangladesh. Mumbai youngster Rohit Sharma, who led the Board President''s XI against the visitors in the two-day warm-up game at the old VCA stadium here, has been asked to stay back as cover for Laxman. More PTI SSR AY MRM
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