July 08  
Ganguly happy with Dravid experiment 

BIRMINGHAM, England: India captain Sourav Ganguly is convinced that playing Rahul Dravid as a wicketkeeper/batsman has given his side an ideal balance for one-day internationals. 

Dravid has played in 173 limited-overs matches for his country but his place was in danger before he switched to keeping wicket on the recent tour of the West Indies and current triangular series in England. 

He played a key role in India's win over the hosts at Lord's in the tournament's second game and followed up with a man-of-the-match performance in the four-wicket victory over Sri Lanka on Saturday. 

"I'm not surprised by the way he's batted and he's keeping very well," Ganguly said. 

"Playing him as a wicketkeeper has allowed us to pick an extra batsman and that's given the team a good balance." 

Dravid, meanwhile, is convinced India are on course to pose a threat to defending champions Australia at next year's World Cup in South Africa. "There are still six months to go and there's a lot of cricket to be played between now and then," he said. 

"But if we keep playing like this then we'll be in with a realistic chance of winning the trophy again." India, who will play England in the triangular tournament final next Saturday, won the World Cup for the only time in 1983.