Dhaka, Oct 27: Every time Indian cricket is in the doldrums, it looks upto the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka for ressurgence. Now that the wheel has come a full circle, they would again be looking upto the stadium even as they go into the crunch quarter-final of the Wills ICC Mini-World Cup against Australia tomorrow.``I know we have been winning here but that doesn't mean we only win because of the luck the stadium brings. You have to play well to be lucky,'' skipper Mohammad Azharuddin said.
The opposition is gunning for revenge after their invincibility factor was sent for a tumble by the Indians on their tour to India and at Sharjah later.
The Aussies, however, have to contend with Sachin Tendulkar. Their captain Steve Waugh, though, feels, ``He is human. Maybe, we get him early tomorrow.'' They need to, because Waugh has seen how Tendulkar had massacred the Australian bowlers and amassed more than a thousand runs, with six centuries in about a dozen visits to the wicket early this year.
Tendulkarapart, Saurav Ganguly has proved his match-winning qualities while Rahul Dravid can provide the much-needed balance among strokeplayers. And with Ajay Jadeja and the reliable Robin Singh having the capability to take off in the final overs.
That leaves us with the Indian skipper. He would be the one having a sleepless night. Not only does he need a victory tomorrow to keep off his detractors for a while, but the game would also be special for him as he will be the first player to play in 300 One-day internationals. Another incentive for him would be to become the highest run-getter in the history of One-dayers. Azharuddin needs 95 runs to break West Indian Desmond Haynes' record of 8648 runs.
The Indians are undecided on their playing 11 and will decide only tomorrow after a final look at the wicket. ``Anything can happen overnight. We will monitor it before deciding whether to play three seamers and two spinners or vice-versa,'' coach Anshuman Gaekwad said.
Anil Kumble with his accurate leg-spin andseamer Venkatesh Prasad with his ability to use the slowness of the wicket will be the bowlers Azharuddin feels he can bank upon. He also had a word of praise for Javagal Srinath whose opening spell will be crucial.
If he gets Mark Waugh early, the Indians would be one-up though the Australians have One-day specialists in Adam Gilchrist, Darren Lehmann and the never-say-die Michael Bevan, whose left-arm spinners too will be handy for the Australians.
Though Shane Warne will not be there, Glenn McGrath is back. As he showed in Pakistan, he can be very lethal with the new ball even on the sub-continent's wickets. He will take first chance at Tendulkar. That could actually have a bearing on the result.
Teams (from): India: Mohammad Azharuddin (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Nayan Mongia, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Sunil Joshi, Venkatesh Prasad, Nikhil Chopra and VVS Laxman.
Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Mark Waugh,Adam Gilchrist, Darren Lehmann, Ricky Ponting, Michael Bevan, Damien Martyn, Brendon Julian, Damien Fleming, Glenn McGrath, Michael Kasprowicz, Andrew Symonds, Gavin Robertson and Brad Young.
Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Steve Dunne (New Zealand). Third umpire: David Orchard (South Africa).
Hours of play (IST): 2.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. and 6.45 p.m. to 10.15 p.m.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.