How is Sai Baba identified with Lord Ganesha in the first chapter of the Satcharitra?

In Chapter 1, Sai Baba is directly identified with Lord Ganesha. The text first offers salutations to Ganapati, describing him as the curved-trunk Heramba and the one who holds an axe to destroy devotees' obstacles. After these invocations, the chapter makes a profound statement: "This Sai himself is Ganesha Ganapati." It further elaborates that this Sai, by taking the axe in hand and destroying obstacles, will bring forth his own knowledge. He is also described as the formidable one with a broken tusk, the destroyer of the forest of obstacles, solidifying his identity with the remover of all hindrances.