Dravid to overcome pain barrier to play in final

JOHANNESBURG, March 21 AFP - India's vice-captain Rahul Dravid will continue his role as a wicketkeeper in Sunday's World Cup final against Australia despite an injured finger.

Dravid, the dependable batsman who took over as one-day wicketkeeper to maintain the balance in the Indian side, hurt the middle finger of his left hand during Thursday's semi-final against Kenya in Durban.

The injury, caused by keeping to the pace trio of Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, saw Dravid concede 16 byes on top of the 15 wides sent down by the bowlers.

India have a specialist wicketkeeper in the squad in 18-year-old Parthiv Patel, but team official Amrit Mathur said Dravid will don the gloves in the final.

"We were a bit worried on Thursday night, but Dravid says he will recover and wants to do the job he has been doing in the World Cup," Mathur told AFP.

India need Dravid's new-found skills as a keeper as much as his batting at number five in a bid to stop Australia from successfully defending their title at the Wanderers on Sunday.