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Asia Cup - 2004
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Asia Cup - 2004
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India can win Champions
Trophy in England: Ganguly
COLOMBO: Dubbing the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy, to be held in
England from September 10 to 25 to be a crucial one, skipper Sourav
Ganguly has exuded confidence that India could win the title.
"India has done well in England in recent times and we have been
playing well in our last two editions of the tournaments making it
to the finals on both the occasions. We will be hoping to do the
same this time as well," Ganguly, who is leading the Indian
challenge in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka, said in a statement on
Tuesday.
"It (Champions Trophy) is a very important tournament as it gives
every team an idea of where it stands in relation to the other
teams", the statement added.
India had shared the honours with Sri Lanka in 2002 after rain
interrupted the final in Colombo while in 2000 they lost by four
wickets to New Zealand at Nairobi, despite Ganguly scoring 117 runs.
"In one-day cricket, you don't necessarily know who will play well
on the given day. In an one-off match, anyone can win", Ganguly
said.
India are grouped in Pool-C along with Kenya and arch rivals
Pakistan in the qualifying stage.
Speaking on his team's rivalry with Pakistan, Ganguly said "matches
against Pakistan are always different. They attract a bit more
attention than other matches.
"We play them in our second game in the Champions Trophy so there
will be a lot at stake. These games always attract a lot of
interest, not just in our own country but around the world", the
statement added.
"We did well when we played them in Pakistan recently, and we hope
we can do well against them in England as well."
The tickets for the India-Pakistan tie at Edgbaston on September 19
were sold out within hours, highlighting the intense popularity and
interest in the games between the Asian neighbours, according to an
ICC release.
The intense focus of the India-Pakistan rivalry is a fact not lost
on the players of both the sides as the Indian skipper acknowledged
saying "the whole world will sit up and notice" when they clash with
each other.
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