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| February 23, 2003 | Sunday | Zul Hijjah 21, 1423 |
India may rest key bowlers against Namibia
PIETERMARITZBURG (South Africa), Feb 22: India may rest off-spinner Harbhajan Singh for Sunday’s World Cup Group ‘A’ match match against minnows Namibia in a bid to keep him fresh for the tougher games ahead.
Leg-spinner Anil Kumble is expected to come in for Harbhajan while one of the seam bowlers could also stand down, leaving the way clear for Ajit Agarkar’s first appearance in this tournament, team officials said.
The batting, however, will remain untouched as India attempt to improve their net run-rate as well as gaining the expected four points for a win.
Besides defeating Namibia, India will also have to overcome England and arch-rivals Pakistan in their remaining group matches to seal a spot in the Super Six.
Out-of-form Indian captain Saurav Ganguly, who practised against wet tennis balls to sharpen himself against short-pitched deliveries, said the Namibia game gave his side the chance to iron out their weaknesses.
“We are still not batting to our full potential,” Ganguly said. “That’s an area we need to improve before playing England and Pakistan.”
Ganguly confirmed that Sachin Tendulkar, who top scored in all the three previous matches, will take the field after being treated for bruises on his left hand on Friday.
Namibia, playing in their first World Cup, have lost all their three matches so far, but their determination to fight all the way has been a feature of the tournament.
They rattled England in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday by bowling them out for 272 before Jan-Berry Burger smashed 85 to bring Namibia within 55 runs of a stunning upset.
“If we don’t believe we can beat India, then why compete?,” Namibia captain Deon Kotze said.
“We are all excited to compete against India. It’s going to be a huge learning opportunity.
“Having said that, we have prepared well and we can win. It will take a huge effort but no matter who we play, we play to win.”
Kotze hoped India’s bowlers would give his batsmen an opening, just as England had done.
“If that happens, we can bring ourselves very close to winning. It won’t be as one-sided as everyone is making it out to be.”
Not surprisingly, the wicket the Namibians crave is that of Tendulkar.
“We just can’t afford to think that we cannot dismiss him but we’ve got to be disciplined in our line,” Kotze said.
“He is a phenomenon, the most talented batsmen in the world.
“But getting him out is certainly not an impossible dream. As with any batsman, it only takes one ball to be dismissed.”
Teams (from):
INDIA: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Dinesh Mongia, Parthiv Patel, Sanjay Bangar, Ajit Agarkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif.
NAMIBIA: Deon Kotze (captain), Jan-Berry Burger, Louis Burger, Sarel Burger, Morne Karg, Daniel Keulder, Bjorn Kotze, Lennie Louw, Bryan Murgatroyd, Gerrie Snyman, Stefan Swanepoel, Burton van Rooi, Melt van Schoor, Rudi van Vuuren, Riaan Walters.
Umpires: David Shepherd (England) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan).
TV umpire: Kevan Barbour (Zimbabwe).
Match referee: Wasim Raja (Pakistan).—AFP
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