DRIVING AWAY THEIR BLUES...Indian fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad and leg spinner Anil Kumble stretch it out at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.

BANGALORE, May 13: Never in the history of a cricket tournament has the fixtures been as disadvantageous to the hosts as the Pepsi Indpendence Cup programme is.

The travel-weary Indians who landed in Bangalore today after a long haul from Bermuda, are yet to recover from the jet-lag. Yet they are expected to overcome their fatigue in double quick time and take on a fighting-fit New Zealand on Wednesday. This is something that the Indian cricketers had not bargained for.

Though the Indian cricketers have not expressed any resentment in these days of demanding cricket, they looked a tired lot. Fitness freak Madan Lal, who spoke to mediapersons, refuted that the Indians were not sufficiently prepared for their match. ``We knew the itinerary and were prepared for the same. We are mentally strong. I accept that it's a bit demanding, but then the players are in top physical shape to take things in their stride. We need to lift our performance to ensure that we do not slip up like we did in the West Indies.''

When pointed out that he looked to be very tired, he shot back: ``I can run six rounds right now. The same goes for my players.''

The Indians will be without Mohammed Azharuddin, a match-winner on his day. None of the other players, barring Sachin Tendulkar, are capable of destroying the rival bowling and winning the match on their own. ``Basically our players are wrist players and their strength lies in working the ball for runs.''

Commenting on the new stars in the side, he said: ``It's time players like Saurav (Ganguly) and (Rahul) Dravid took over the mantle of match-winners. What has been frustrating is that we have lost from winning positions. The tendency to panic has been our undoing. We need to think positively and turn situations to our advantage,'' Madan Lal emphasised.

Sachin Tendulkar and Abey Kuruvilla joined the team late in the evening as they proceeded home after the team landed at Mumbai on Monday night. ``I asked Sachin and Abey to have good sleep before arriving here.''

The keenness of players to rush home was evident as the Karnataka stars in the team went home as soon as they landed. Though the others are equally homesick, they are forced to proceed for this match.

The composition of the team will be decided only on the morrow. Noel David has stiches on his left hand and whether or not he would be in the fray will be known only before the start of the match. The teams went through a light practice session under lights.

``The bowlers did well in the Caribbean but the batting let us down,'' Madan conceded.

Asked if the process of re-acclimatising to the lights will take time as the team had not played a single day-night match for the last two months, Madan Lal said: ``the players have been so used to playing in varying conditions that it should not be a hindrance.''

If the Indians looked out of their depth, New Zealand are cock-a-hoop after their creditable win over Pakistan. The New Zealand team are ideally suited for this brand of cricket and their performance in one-dayers has been creditable. What gives New Zealand an edge is their awesome fielding which is bound to put pressure on the batsmen. Their catching has been spectacular and ground fielding brilliant.

``We have begun the tour well and hope to keep winning,'' said a confident New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming.

The wicket appears an ideal one-day wicket and as has been the tradition on this wicket, an absorbing match is assured if Indians are able to lift thier peformance level. But the Indians have an arduous task on hand, more because they are not fully relaxed and have been going through a demanding schedule.

THE TEAMS

India: Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Saurav Ganguly, Gagan Khoda, Rahul Dravid, Vinod Kambli, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Nayan Mongia, Anil Kumble, Sunil Joshi, Noel David, Venkatesh Prasad, Abey Kuruvilla, Dodda Ganesh.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Bryan Young, Mathew Horne, Chris Cairns, Adam Parore, Gavin Larsen, Daneil Vettori, Heath Davis, Dipak Patel, Chris Harris, C McMillan, Adrew Penn, Shayne O'Connorr.

Umpires: Javed Akhtar (Pakistan) & Dave Orchard (South Africa); Third umpire: KT Francis (Sri Lanka)

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.