Ganguly to replace Sehwag as opener in fifth one-dayer

New Delhi, January 30: Hard-hitting Indian batsman Virender Sehwag will not find a place at the top of the order in the fifth one-day international against England here on Thursday despite his impressive performance in the previous game.

Despite smashing a 62-ball 82 as an opener to put his team on course for an eight-wicket victory in the fourth match at Kanpur on Monday, Sehwag will be replaced by an out-of-form skipper Sourav Ganguly.

Sehwag rose to fame as an opener with a 69-ball century - the seventh-fastest in one-dayers - against New Zealand in a triangular series at Colombo last year.

But he has yet to cement his place as an opener in the Indian squad, currently leading 3-1 in the six-match series. The hosts suffered their lone defeat in the second match at Cuttack.

"I will open the innings with Sachin (Tendulkar), but it is always good to have an extra option," said Ganguly, who has scored just three half-centuries in his last 27 Test innings.

The Indian skipper contributed 26 batting at number three in the last game. His form has been inconsistent in the ongoing series, with 42 in the opening day-night match at Calcutta being his highest.

"I have been hitting the ball well, but I realise I need a big score," said Ganguly.

The Indian captain said his team would try to wrap up the series with a victory in the fifth game here.

"We are not complacent because they (England) can fight back," Ganguly said. "The series is not yet decided and we will field our best combination. We would like to go into the final match at Bombay with a winning lead."

England all-rounder Craig White, meanwhile, joined the team after missing the first four games due to a knee-injury.

White, who scored a century in the second Test at Ahmedabad last month, however said he was unlikely to play in the remaining two matches.

"I will not play tomorrow," he said. "I joined the squad here because we are scheduled to leave for our tour of New Zealand after the last one-dayer at Bombay.

The sixth and last match will be played on Sunday.

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Mongia, Virender Sehwag, Hemang Badani, Mohammad Kaif, Ajay Ratra, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar, Sarandeep Singh, Sanjay Bangar.

England (from): Nasser Hussain (capt), Andrew Caddick, Paul Collingwood, Andrew Flintoff, James Foster, Ashley Giles, Darren Gough, Matthew Hoggard, Ben Hollioake, Nick Knight, Owais Shah, Jeremy Snape, Graham Thorpe, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Craig White.

Umpires: Subroto Porel (Ind) and A. Bhattacharjee (Ind)

Match-referee: Denis Lindsay (Rsa).