|
|
|
| March 14, 2003 | Friday | Muharram 10, 1424 |
Rival skippers refuse to reopen wounds
CENTURION (South Africa), March 13: Rival captains Saurav Ganguly of India and Stephen Fleming of New Zealand played down the hype over Friday’s World Cup clash, saying they preferred to forget the past and concentrate on the present.
Fleming had on Wednesday reminded the Indians of the drubbing they received during the recent Test tour of New Zealand and hoped “we can open up some of the wounds we opened then.”
Ganguly’s men were thrashed 2-0 in the Tests and 5-2 in the one-dayers on the tour of New Zealand in December-January amidst complaints of poor wickets heavily tilted in favour of the bowlers.
But the Indians put aside the disappointment of that tour to win seven of their eight World Cup matches so far and book a place in the semifinals alongside Australia and Kenya.
The Kiwis, on the other hand, must defeat India at the Centurion on Friday to grab the fourth spot, leaving Sri Lanka out in the cold.
“Fleming can say what he likes, at the end of the day everyone knows where the two teams stand,” Ganguly told a media conference.
“We have no point to prove. We are in the semifinals and the Kiwis have to beat us to get there.”
Fleming, himself, chose to underplay his earlier words, but stressed his team had a good chance to defeat India.
“I don’t think there are any wounds to be reopened,” he said. “What happened in New Zealand is history, its gone.
“But if you had told me six months ago that we would have to play India for a place in the semifinals, I would take it any day.
“The Indians have played good cricket at the World Cup and it is up to us to match them.”
New Zealand are likely to call-up Daryl Tuffey to complement Shane Bond.
“You need accompanying acts to go with a maestro,” said Fleming in reference to Bond who took 6-23 against Australia in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday.
Ganguly, assured of a semifinal against surprise opponents Kenya at Durban next Thursday, said his team will not take the New Zealand game lightly.
“You have the look at this game in the whole context of the tournament,” he said.
“If we beat New Zealand, then Sri Lanka has a good chance to be in the semifinals and we all know the Lankans are a very handy side.
“So this is not just another game. A lot depends on how this match goes.”
Ganguly downplayed the threat from Bond saying “we have played better fast bowling attacks than New Zealand’s and beaten them.
“We beat both Pakistan and England and they have vey good attacks as well.
“Bond can bowl only 10 overs and we have to ensure we get through them well.”
Fleming, meanwhile, was confident his team can pull off a win and get to the semifinals.
“It’s not a bad scenario really. You know when you need to win you are generally at your best,” he said.
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.
NEW ZEALAND: Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Craig McMillan, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Matthew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.
UMPIRES: Peter Willey (England) and Daryl Harper (Australia).
TV UMPIRE: Darrell Hair (Australia).
MATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).—AFP
|
|
|
|
