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India out to erase blot

Still smarting from the defeat to Australia in the final of the Pepsi triangular series on Tuesday, India have a few points to prove in the Coca Cola three-nation cricket tournament beginning in Sharjah on Friday.

After playing well in the entire series, the Indians were surprised by the Aussie spirit, when it came to the crunch, at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground in Delhi and will be surely seeking revenge here.

The Indians begin their campaign with a clash against an unfancied and inexperienced New Zealand, the third team in the fray, in the opening match of the tournament.

"We have been playing well, except in the last game, and are looking forward to performing much better than we did here last time", Indian coach Anshuman Gaekwad said.

The Indians had failed to win a single game during their last appearance here, in the four-nation Akai Singer Champions Trophy tournament in December. They finished at the bottom of the league behind England, the West Indies and Pakistan.

Gaekwad said Tuesday's loss to the Australians had not affected the morale of the side in any way.

"Not really, it was just one of those things. Our batting did not click, but it was just one match. We did well in the other matches in the series", Gaekwad said.

The Indians, who arrived here late last night, were due to have a session at the nets this evening.

As they know full well, cricket at this desert venue is more often a test of character than of skills and the indians will have to conquer the conditions here -- the heat and the humidity as well as the pressure from the crowds.

For Azharuddin and his team, the tournament is another opportunity to end the long victory drought at Sharjah. The side goes in with an awesome batting lineup with Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Azharuddin, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Ajay Jadeja all in fine nick.

Besides, the Indians will be flaunting youngsters such as Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Ajit Agarkar and Rahul Sanghvi, who have also come good.

Even as the Indians target the Aussies, they would do well not to discount New Zealand's chances. For, the Kiwis certainly have the ability, if not the consistency, to beat the best in the business.

Stephen Fleming and his team may be short on experience but not on confidence. The players gain strength from each other and combine particularly well in the shorter version of the game.

The side caught the attention recently when it performed admirably well against South Africa and Australia. They came away from that series with heads held high, twice chasing with verve targets that were in excess of 300.

Fleming's side is full of players who seem to relish, and even revel in, the atmosphere of limited overs cricket. They seem to have the right man for the right job in every department. There is the dash of explosive opener Nathan Astle and Adam Parore, who has been in good form of late, Fleming and all-rounder Chris Harris. Equally important, they are a brilliant fielding side, just as the Australians are. In fact, this is one area where the Indians will be at a clear disadvantage.

The New Zealanders arrived here three days ago and have therefore had some more time to get used to the conditions.

The Australians reached here only hours before the Indians, and chose to rest all of yesterday and today. They can afford to, however, since their first outing is only on Saturday.

The Australian morale is high, and it is evident that they will want to try for a second successive title triumph. As their captain Steve Waugh said, they have peaked at the right time.

Allan Border, who will be taking over as manager of the side from Geoff Marsh, was expected here later today.

"We will have a long discussion with Border and then decide our plans", Waugh told reporters. "The greatest advantage of the team right now is that we are all fit and in the right spirit", he added.

Waugh said Australia would take both its rivals seriously. "No team is going to be easy. In fact, instant cricket has proved that the team which plays well on the day wins the match".

The Australian captain said leg-spinner Shane Warne, who damaged his shoulder ligament while fielding in a match against Zimbabwe last saturday, could play in all the matches here. "He is here to play, and should play all the matches", Waugh said.

Warne, however, evaded a direct answer about whether he would play, saying, "I will decide tomorrow".

If Warne does play, it will show just how keen the Aussies are to prove themselves. Along with Michael Bevan and Waugh himself, Warne has always risen to the occasion for his team when it mattered most.

Earlier, reports from Sydney had said that the Australians had called in Ian Harvey as a back-up to Warne and another injured player, Tom Moody, who is suffering from a hamstring injury.

The total prize money at stake is $85,000. The winners get $40,000, the runners-up $30,000 and the third- placed team gets $15,000.

Javed Akhtar of Pakistan, Ian Robinson of Zimbabwe and Steve Bucknor of the West Indies are the umpires. Talat Ali of Pakistan is the tournament referee, appointed by the ICC.

Former Indian test players Pankaj Roy, Brijesh Patel and Shivlal Yadav will be the three beneficiaries of the tournament, which is organised by the Sharjah-based Cricketers Benefit Fund Series.

UNI