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Dutch Tri- Series - 2004 |
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icricketer.com > Series >
Dutch Tri-
Series - 2004 > News
India hoping against hope for a win
against Aussies
AMSTERDAM: Having suffered a humiliating defeat in their opening
game to Pakistan, India now find themselves in a must-win situation
against none other than world champions Australia in the cricket
tri-series here on Monday.
The Indians have nothing to lose but their own waywardness which
cost them heavily -- a huge 66-run defeat to their arch-rivals who
appear to be getting back into the groove after two wins on the trot
against Sourav Ganguly's men.
India almost certainly face a shut-out in the tournament and they
must now win against Australia and then hope Pakistan would win
against the world champions on Wednesday to remain in contention for
the August 28 final.
The variables are heavily loaded against them and if they are not
able to pull off a win on Monday, they must prepare to cool their
heels for the next five days before leaving for England for the
NatWest Challenge and the Champions Trophy on August 29.
India are fervently hoping that their famous batting rediscovers its
touch, for, further mishaps will prove disastrous to the men in blue
in England.
If the last season was one in which all the batsmen were in the pink
of form, the present season has shown them in terrible light with
nobody able to hit the straps.
Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj
Singh and Mohammad Kaif have all been struggling to put one decent
score on the scoreboard.
It is a moot issue though how a batting line-up so short on
confidence would find a measure of the Australian bowling which has
a four-pronged pace attack in Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn
McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz.
Australia will have an added spur to do well against the Indians
since they would be coming over to India in October for a Test
series and a good performance here would help them score some
psychological points.
As coach John Wright has pointed out, the Indian team has almost
lost the ability to chase any target batting second and their
methods of playing spin from the crease, looking to hit shots square
rather than straight, is costing them dear.
No batsman seems to be prepared to leave the crease and play lofted
strokes or meet the spin on the pitch.
The team has neither been able to build partnerships nor the depth
in the line-up is able to produce decent scores and that is a big
worry.
Australia are at their full strength except for the absence of Adam
Gilchrist who has stayed back home because of personal reasons.
Their batting is powerful, their bowling penetrative and fielding
razor sharp - all in all an opponent which India in their current
form do not look capable of taking on.
Teams (from):
Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Matthew Hayden, Damien
Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Ian Harvey,
Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath, Shane
Watson.
India: Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Rahul
Dravid, VVS Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Rohan Gavaskar,
Anil Kumble, Laxmipathy Balaji, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Dinesh
Karthik.
Umpires: David Shepherd and Steve Bucknor.
Third umpire: Jeremy Lloyds
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