HAMILTON, New Zealand. Dec 31: India are certain to make changes for the third and final Test against

New Zealand, starting on Saturday, and their openers are under particular threat, reports Reuters.

Navjot Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja both failed in the second Test which India lost by four wickets to go 1-0 down in the series.

Sidhu has not made a sizable score on tour, but his experience and an average of 40 in 50 previous Tests could stand him in good stead.

If Jadeja gets the nod. it will not only be because he is vice-captain but also because he is a good fielder.

Fielding was the one department — in the air and on the ground — in which India let themselves down badly in Wellington and captain Mohammad Azharuddin has demanded an Improvement on what he called a "very poor effort".

The case for making a change at the top of the order is stronger because Venkat Lax-

man, who would have opened with Sidhu in the first Test had the weather not intervened, was in good form when he was last given an outing.

A tall, wristy right-hander. Laxman was top scorer with 82 in the day/night exhibition match after the Dunedin washout.

Sidhu is one of three players in the tour party who has not been retained for the five one-day internationals which follow this Test, the other two to go home will be pace bowler Robin Singh and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh.

India's bowling, which also looked ordinary in Wellington, also needs strengthening but the selectors have few options in this department.

The pitch is expected to be hard and fast, and ideally India would play a third quick bowler in support of Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad.

But neither of the two reserve seamers. Robin Singh and Debasish Mohanty, impressed during the run-up to the series.

The retention of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh seems unlikely after Azharuddin was most reluctant to give him a

lengthy spell in Wellington. The only alternative left is to include left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi with a brief to bowl defensively and keep runs down while the strike bowlers recharge their batteries.

New Zealand would have been unchanged for the third Test had middle-order batsman Nathan Astle not been put out of action by a fracture in the hand sustained while batting in the second innings on Tuesday.

Astle's place has gone to lefthanded Roger Twose. who scored 99 against the tourists in their match against Wellington three weeks ago.

SQUADS

NEW ZEALAND: Stephen Fleming (captain). Matthew Bell. Matthew Horne, Roger Twose, Craig McMillan. Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Dion Nash. Daniel Vettori. Simon Doull. Geoff AUott, Paul Wise-

INDIA: Mohammad Azharuddin (capt), Navjot Sidhu. Ajay Jadeja. Venkat Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly. Nayan Mon-gia. Anil Kumble. Javaga) Srinath. Sunil Joshi. Venkatesh Prasad. Debasish Mohanty.