The five match series is evenly poised at 1-1. Both the teams would be looking to gain an upper hand and take a lead with a victory here.

Mark Waugh has a fracture in his right little finger and will return home as soon as possible, Brian Murgatroyd, Aussie media manager told UNI today.

The fracture was caused when he was struck by a ball from Javagal Srinath during the second one-day international at Pune on Wednesday. Mark scored a brilliant 133 not out in the match.

“The blow has caused bruising and discomfort and an x-ray taken this morning revealed the extent of the injury,” Brian said.

The finger would be immobilized and Mark will see a hand specialist on his return to Sydney, he said and added the healing period is expected to be around two weeks.

Besides Mark Waugh, Matthew Hayden, Glenn McGrath and all rounder Shane Lee have also been rested for tomorrow’s match.

Australian team physiotherapist Patrick Farhart said, “We’re confident it’s not a serious injury and at a push he could continue to play. However, we are taking a safety-first approach in the best interests of both Mark and the Australian cricket”.

However, vice-captain Adam Gilchrist, who addressed the news conference said the changes were part of a rotation policy.

“We have had a long Carlton and United Series at home and abroad. Our players need some rest,” he added.

On his injury, Mark Waugh said, “It’s disappointing to miss the last three matches on the tour, especially as I feel I’ve been in good form over the past few weeks.”

“It was disappointing to lose the Test series. I can take this opportunity to have an extra break ahead of an intense period of cricket starting with the England tour in May,” he added.

The kangaroos after losing the last two Tests and the first one-dayer at Bangalore seemed to have got their act right in Pune.

India’s batting worries stem mainly from captain Saurav Ganguly’s poor run while Sachin Tendulkar, though brilliant, has failed to put up an expected big score.

Though some sterling performances from youngsters, notably Sehwag and Vijay Dahiya in the first match and Hemang Badani in the second, not to forget the consistent VVS Laxman, have almost made up for the deficit, the hosts desperately need their front-line batsmen to fire tomorrow.

Coach John Wright however reposed faith in his captain and ruled out his demotion in the batting order.

“Saurav (Ganguly) is still one of the best batsmen in one-day games and there is no question of pushing him down the order just because he is going through a lean patch. I am sure he will strike form very soon,” Wright said after nets today.

Tendulkar goes into the match needing just 34 runs to become the first batsmen to touch the 10,000-run mark in one-dayers and its just an added incentive for the maestro who was unable to translate his early onslaughts on Australian bowlers in both the matches into big scores.

The Indians had good news with both vice-captain Rahul Dravid and Hemang Badani being declared fit for tomorrow’s game. While Dravid was hit on his shin while fielding in Pune, Badani, who scored his maiden one-day hundred there, was suffering from acute dehydration.

India’s newest spin sensation Harbhajan Singh, who claimed a record 32 wickets in the Test series, has gone wicketless in the two matches so far and there were a few whispers in the camp about resting him. However, with Sehwag out, Indian do not have an alternative off-spinner which has limited Ganguly’s options. The captain supported Harbhajan while suggesting he could have bowled better.

“Bowling in a one-dayer is a different ball-game and I think he bowled reasonably well so far though he could have bowled better on Pune track,” Ganguly said.

Ganguly admitted the Indians had got some of their basics wrong in Pune and said the team had worked very hard on fielding and running between the wickets during practice sessions here.

“The main problem at Pune was that our batsmen lost eye contact with their partners while going for the runs and this led to three of them getting run out,” he said.

The captain said the team was not unnerved by the loss in Pune and was looking forward to the remaining matches.

“One must remember that the Australians are the current world champions and in a one-day game, the team performing well on that particular day will win. I feel that will be the trend in the rest of the series too,” he said.

Wright too felt the loss was not an aberration. “We are playing the best side in the world and not just a number five or six. So a loss here and there is expected.”

Wright refused to comment on the changes in the Australian squad saying it was none of his business. “We will be fielding our best team and we are not concerned with what changes they (Aussies) make. Our only goal is to win the series,” he said.

Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist said Hayden would be rested despite the injury to Mark Waugh and the team had a few other batsmen who could open the innings.

“Though (Mark) Waugh is injured, we would like to continue with our rotation policy wherein the three players who did not play in Pune, will be seen in action here.

“We have four others who have opened the batting with success - Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Damien Martyn and myself - and I don’t think it will be a problem for the team as long as the openers give us a reasonably good start.

“The morale of the team is very high after the Pune win and we are looking to win the series,” Gilchrist said.

This would be the first one-day match at Indore after it was banned for preparing an unplayable wicket in a match against Sri Lanka in 1997.

Indians have a poor track record at the venue having lost three of the five matches they played here. They lost to Pakistan (1987), Australia (1984) and West Indies (1983) while they defeated New Zealand by 53 runs in 1988. A match with Zimbabwe ended in a tie with both teams scoring 248 runs.

In two matches in which India did not figure, South Africa had defeated Australia in Titan Cup in 1996 while Australia had beaten New Zealand by three runs in a rain-affected match. India will announce their final eleven tomorrow morning.

Teams:

India (from): Saurav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Hemang Badani, Yuvraj Singh, Vijay Dahiya, Dinesh Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Joshi, Ajit Agarkar, Robin Singh.

Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Michael Bevan, Darren Lehmann, Ricky Ponting, Ian Harvey, Nathan Bracken, Damen Fleming, Shane Warne.

Umpires: Vijay Chopra and K.Hariharan (both Delhi).

Reports here said the Indian captain appears to have escaped punishment despite his “two obvious breaches” of te ICC regulations during the Pune match. This after Australian vice-captain Adam Gilchrist and fast bowler Glenn McGrath been fined for dissent by the ICC match referee Cammie Smith for dissent in the Bangalore one-dayer.

Ganguly contravened ICC rules when he asked the umpires to use the video replay to check which batsman was run out after a mix-up between Mark Waugh and Darren Lehmann. No player is allowed to request a video replay under any circumstances.

The second and more serious offence was committed by the Indian captain when he stood across the pitch from Waugh and the two umpires and gestured angrily and repeatedly that Waugh should have been given out as he had been closer than Lehmann to the end where the stumps were broken.

Ganguly’s finger pointing was then adopted by several of his teammates in a lengthy display of dissent at an umpiring decision, reports said.

Mark Ray writing in the Herald insisted that Ganguly’s was a far more orchestrated display of attempted interference and dissent compared to the sins of the two Australians.

The reports said, match referee Cammie Smith took no action after play and had not called for a hearing on the issue till yesterday morning.

McMillan hit a world record 26 runs in one over this morning to enable New Zealand to declare on 407 for four. Pakistan then capitulated against some penetrative line and length bow-ling to be all out for a 118 in 49.5 overs on the fourth day.

Swing bowlers Daryl Tuffey (3-38), who finished the series with 16 wickets at an average of 23.00, and James Franklin with a career-best 4-26, made short work of the Pakistan second innings.

This was after some reckless batting on the first day had ended its first innings at 104 after just 26.5 overs.

It was a remarkable turnaround for the New Zealand side that had embarrassingly collapsed on the fifth morning of the series opener in Auckland and lost by 299 runs. The two teams played out a high-scoring draw in the second Test in Christchurch.

New Zealand had gone into the Test series after coming from behind to win the five-match one-day series 3-2. It was the biggest victory margin for New Zealand in their 288-Test history and was more remarkable considering 122 overs were lost over the first three days due to bad weather, including a complete washout on the second day.

“That was as close to a perfect Test you can play, bar a couple of (dropped) catches on the first day,” said Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming. “It was the most complete performance and obviously shows by the size of the victory.

Fleming claimed Pakistan was “spooked” by the pace and bounce of the surface and said New Zealand’s bowling was 100 times better than in the first innings.

Faced with a 303-run deficit, Pakistan’s batting vulnerability on a seaming surface was badly exposed for the second time.

Rookie wicketkeeper batsman Humayun Farhat top-scored with 26 including two sixes while stand-in skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq contributed 20 runs before falling to an outstanding outfield catch by Tuffey at long leg.

Tuffey, who had taken a career-best 7-12 and a match-haul of 11-66 for Northern Districts against Wellington here in January, once again led the demolition for New Zealand.

After taking 4-49 in the first innings, Tuffey finished with a match-haul of 7-87.

McMillan, the form player with the bat in both one-day and the test series, hit part-time leg spinner Younis Khan for 4, 4, 4, 4, 6 and 4, to record the most number of runs hit in a six-ball over in Test cricket.

The previous record for a six-ball over was 24 runs achieved by five different players and 25 runs for an eight-ball over.

When McMillan followed it up with the second of his three sixes off Saqlain Mushtaq in the next over, it was the most number of boundaries hit off consecutive balls - seven in all - 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4 and 6.

“After hitting the first three boundaries I thought why not hit six in the overs,” McMillan said of his hitting.

McMillan, 24, who was voted international player of the year for his efforts, rated his 97-ball knock among his top three innings in international cricket.

Pakistan had gone into the Test match without skipper Moin Khan and fast bowler Mohammad Sami, both ruled out with injuries.

SCOREBOARD

Pakistan (first innings): 104 (Younis Khan 36; D. Tuffey 4-39, C. Martin 4-52)

New Zealand (first innings): (overnight 260-1)

Richardson c Farhat b Fazl 106

Bell lbw b Waqar 105

Sinclair c Waqar b Fazl 27

Mcmillan c Waqar b Fazl 98

Fleming not out 51

Extras: (lb-10 nb-10) 20

Total: (four wickets declared) 407

Fall of wickets: 1-181, 2-260, 3-260, 4-407.

Bowling: Waqar 31-2-98-1, Fazl 27.2-6-85-3, Akram 22-1-106-0 (nb-10), Saqlain 31-6-82-0, Younis 1-0-26-0.

Pakistan (second innings):

Farhat c McMillan b Tuffey 1

Ijaz Ahmed c Parore b Franklin 17

Faisal Iqbal c Bradburn b Tuffey 5

Inzamam-ul-Haq c

Tuffey b Franklin 20

Youhana c Parore b Martin 16

Younis Khan c Astle b Tuffey 4

Farhat c Bradburn b Martin 26

Mushtaq c Martin b Franklin 14

Waqar Younis c Parore

b McMillan 4

Fazl-e-Akbar not out 0

Mohammad Akram

c & b Franklin 4

Extras: (lb-2 nb-5) 7

Total: 118

Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-20, 3-43, 4-54, 5-69, 6-71, 7-97, 8-114, 9-114.

McMillan smashed 26 off leg-spinner Younis Khan’s only over in the third and final Test against Pakistan, beating the mark of 24 held jointly by five other players.

He hit five fours and a six from the six balls, three of his fours coming from reverse sweeps.

“I enjoyed the three reverse sweeps the best,” McMillan said after his innings of 98 on the fourth day when New Zealand won by an innings and 185 runs.

“I’ve had some stick for playing that shot, but I practise it in the nets and only play it when a certain field is set. Younis was bowling to a heavy on-side field, so it was a practical shot to play — and it was profitable today.”

McMillan gave a little punch in the air after hitting the final boundary of the over but was unaware of the record.

“I started the over thinking I would like to hit as many fours as I could,” he said. “I’ve been hit for a few boundaries in an over myself, so I wanted to turn the tables.

“The little punch in the air was because I’d managed to hit all six to the boundary, not because I thought I’d broken a record.”

Cullinan made an unbeaten 108 in a total of 244 for five at close of play.

South Africa had been 58 for three on a pitch which had early life.

A fourth wicket stand of 149 between Cullinan and Neil McKenzie (72) wrested the initiative away from the West Indies.

It was a fourth wicket record for South Africa against the West Indies.

For Cullinan, 34, it was a continuation of the form he showed when he made 103 and 73 and was named ‘man of the match’ when South Africa won the second Test in Port of Spain, Trinidad, by 69 runs.

McKenzie struggled in the first two Tests, scoring only 38 runs in three innings but a hard-fought 58 in 210 minutes against a West Indies Board xi at the same ground last weekend enabled him to spend valuable time at the crease.

He was a transformed batsman yesterday although he was dropped on 43 when Wavell Hinds could not hold a diving catch in the covers off Cameron Cuffy.

McKenzie played some sizzling offside drives off both the front and back foot and was strong on the hook and pull. His six came when he pulled a short ball from Mervyn Dillon over midwicket.

The breakthrough came in surprising fashion when West Indian skipper Carl Hooper called on Wavell Hinds to bowl gentle medium-pacers at a time when Cullinan and McKenzie were in complete control.

With his eighth delivery, Hinds made a breakthrough when McKenzie pulled a short ball straight to Mervyn Dillon at midwicket.

Cullinan went on to his century after batting for 238 minutes, facing 189 balls and hitting 11 fours.

It was Cullinan’s 14th Test century, extending his own South African Test record.

Cullinan and McKenzie came together with South Africa struggling after being sent in. The conditions were difficult for batsmen as early moisture made batting hazardous on a pitch with close-cut grass patches at both ends.

Hooper’s decision to bowl first paid off almost immeditely when Courtney Walsh had consistent opening batsman Gary Kirsten caught off his gloves for nought off the third ball of the match, the ball lifting sharply.

SCOREBOARD

South Africa (Ist innings):

Kristen c Gayle b Walsh 0

Gibbs c Hooper b Dillon 34

Kallis c Jacobs b Dillon 11

Cullinan not out 108

McKenzie c Dillon b Hinds 72

Boucher c Jacobs b cuffy 3

Boje not out 3

Extras: (b4, Ib2, nb7) 13

Total: (for five wickets) 244

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-53, 3-58, 4-207, 5-230.

GM Veselin Topalov and Braingames winner GM Vladimir Kramnik of Russia maintained their lead with draws against GM Ljubomir Ljubojevic of Yugoslavia and GM Peter Leko of Hungary.

Playing white, Anand faced the French defence. The exchange of pieces right from the opening led to a perfectly balanced position in the middlegame. The peace treaty was signed in mere 19 moves.

GM Boris Gelfand of Israel rose up to occasion and scored a hard fought victory over Grandmaster Loek Van Wely of The Netherlands. With this victory Gelfand, finished joint first along with Kramnik in the rapid version of the event on 7.5 points out of a possible 11. Topalov finished third on 7 points while Anand with 6.5 has been declared fourth.

The final overall standing will be declared after the Blindfold game later today.

Wednesday’s events at Quito’s Atahualpa stadium provided the final proof that those days are over as Ecuador, whose past results against Brazil included 9-1, 9-2 and 7-1 defeats, beat the four-times world champions for the first time in 22 attempts.

Far from fearing Brazil, Ecuador had boldly predicted victory from the outset with their Colombian coach Hernan Dario Gomez claiming: “Wednesday will be a different day for Ecuador.”

Brazil had only lost one World Cup qualifier before the current competition began a year ago. Now they have lost three times in 11 outings after earlier defeats away to Paraguay and Chile.

“I preferred the old days,” said television commentator Galvao Bueno, whose career behind the microphone began when Brazil were still feared and respected.

“I have to say this is hard to stomach,” he said as Ecuador passed the ball around to chants of “Ole” from an ecstatic 40,000 crowd.“Brazil lost, which is becoming the norm. No surprise,” said Juca Kfouri, an outspoken columnist in the sports daily Lance.

The newspaper’s headline, “Just Venezuela left”, referred to the fact that the baseball-playing nation is the only one in South America against which the Brazilians can still boast an unbeaten record. Brazilians blame the demise on a variety of reasons; deep-rooted mismanagement of the sport, money, alleged greed and lack of effort on the part of the players, the exodus of leading players abroad, lack of time for training and a negative approach by domestic coaches.

Coach Emerson Leao admitted he was disappointed with his players. “Some didn’t produce everything they are capable of,” he said. “Some didn’t produce 50 per cent of what they are capable of.”

His comments appeared to be aimed at Rivaldo, substituted after 63 minutes of a performance which earned him three out of 10 in Lance’s analysis.

Brazilians now cling to the possibility that injury-stricken striker Ronaldo will return to action this year as if it were the only hope of a return to greatness.

On Wednesday, Ronaldo took part in a charity kick about at the Maracana Stadium. No tackling was allowed and the opposition consisted of veteran players and television celebrities. But the fact that Ronaldo scored five goals in a 10-9 win was seen as a ray of hope.

On the other side of the Amazon jungle, the outcome was greeted with unbridled joy.

Thousands took to the streets of Quito and Guayaquil to celebrate the finest moment in Ecuador’s sporting history.

Celebrations were fuelled by the prospect that Ecuador could now qualify for their first World Cup.

India will play Japan from April 6 to 8.

Coach Nandan Bal told reporters here today that “the boys had a nice practice session for the past few days. They are fully fit and raring to go.”

Asked whether the Japanese were tougher opponents than the Chinese, Bal replied in the affirmative and added, “though they have two players — Motamura and Suzuki, ranked inside 200 on the ATP list, we had beaten them in our earlier outings and this time will be no different”.

“However, playing any country at home is always tough”, he said.

Commenting on the climate in Japan, Nandan Bal said, “Both Leander and Mahesh have played there earlier and unlike China, which was too cold, climate will not be a major problem in Japan”.

The team comprising Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Syed Fazaluddin and Harsh Mankad had a two-day practice session under the watchdul eyes of Nandan Bal and physical trainer Sanjay Singh.

The team will be joined by non-playing captain Ramesh Krishnan tomorrow morning before boarding the flight for Japan the same afternoon.

Sanjay Singh, who is also a personal trainer to both Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, said, “The team is gearing up very well and everyone is fit”.

Asked particularly about Bhupathi, Sanjay said he had shown a lot of commitment and was ready to take on the Japanese challenge physically as well as mentally.

“Both Leander and Mahesh are playing solid tennis and I must say they will again reach the top by next year”, he said.

India will then play Yemen on April 15, followed by the match against Brunei on May 20 — the other two nations in group 8 - at Sree Kanteerava Stadium in their home matches.

The home side will play away matches in UAE on April 26, in Yemen on May 4 and Brunei on May 12, according to the match schedule released at a news conference here today.

UAE are expected to pose a big challenge to India, while Yemen and Brunei are ranked below the home side, but cannot be taken lightly.

In fact, India had lost 1-3 to UAE when the two teams pla-yed last. Ironically, India’s present chief coach Sukhvinder Singh, reappointed after the sacking of Ukraine coach Islam Akhmedov after the disastrous Sahara Cup assignment in January, was also the coach then.