Compaq Cup IND VS NZ

After nearly two months of well earned rest, the Indian team returns to the centre-stage again when they take on the Kiwis in the 2nd match of the tri-series at Colombo. With Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir ruled out of the tournament due to injuries, the Indian think-tank will be in a quandary to fill the opening slot. During the break, most of the Indian players did not see much action except for the last week when they turned up for the BCCI corporate trophy- which should be a cause for concern as the Indian team is not known to start off a new season well after a lengthy break. Sachin Tendulkar returns to the ODI side which gives a huge fillip to the side and the team will be looking up to him to provide the pyrotechnics at the top. Also Rahul Dravid has been recalled in the twilight of his career, considering his competence in handling the short stuff and also his wealth of experience. India should take heart from the fact that they have won the last two ODI series quite convincingly in Sri Lanka and have sufficient balance in the side to hope for an encore. With the number one ranking in ODIs a tempting object for Dhoni's boys- India need to remain unbeaten and lift the tri-series to achieve the feat- expect the Indians to go for the kill straightaway.

The Kiwis bowled quite superbly the other day against the Lankans until the brilliance of Samaraweera and the youthful exuberance of Angelo Mathews helped SL to post a decent target. With Daryl Tuffey and Shane Bond returning, the Kiwi attack looks far more potent than it has been in recent times. The batting, though, was a huge disappointment on Tuesday with the top-order failing to fire for the umpteenth time. Martin Guptill- a man with so much talent and time to play the ball has been a huge let-down unable to translate his potential into something more constructive, while big Jake Oram does not know where his next run will come from as he falters repeatedly with the bat. Surely the time seems to be running out for both of them unless they pull of something worthwhile. Friday's game is a must-win one for the Kiwis and they have to win with a bonus point just to be on the safer side, in case if all the teams are tied on points at the end of the league phase.

Team News

India suffered a huge jolt just before the tournament when prolific opening bat Gautam Gambhir was ruled out with a groin injury, Virat Kohli has been named as his replacement, but it is highly unlikely that he will play on Friday. Dinesh Karthik who shone in the Windies is expected to partner Sachin at the top while RP Singh and Praveen Kumar will fight it out for the last spot in the team.

Even though their top-order failed on Tuesday, the Kiwis are most likely to place their trust on the same batting order. The bowling line-up looks quite good and there is no reason to believe that it will be tinkered with.

Pitch and Weather conditions

The Premadasa stadium in recent times has become a graveyard for the teams batting second under lights as it becomes almost impossible to chase down a target. With such a history behind them, the toss becomes doubly vital in a big game, especially for the Kiwis. Scattered thunderstorms with a maximum of 29 degree celsius is forecast for tomorrow.

Trivia

9th Aug 2005- The last time that India lost an ODI at the Premadasa, since then they have played 11- winning 7 and the remaining games have been abandoned. 3, 25, 0, 7, 1, 4- Jacob Oram's scores in his last 6 innings in ODIs. 316- The number of runs required by Sachin Tendulkar to reach another peak- that of 17000 ODI runs.

Soundbites

Winning the toss is quite important. But if you are going to be a world class team and a champion side at that, you need to win from any situation or condition. We are not going to look at that as an excuse- Gary Kirsten spells out his agenda for Team India.People would have said we'd never be back - it just shows how hard the guys have worked- Ian Butler showers praise on Daryl Tuffey and Shane Bond for toughing it out and making a comeback to the Kiwi side.

India (From): Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni(w/c), Yusuf Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar, Rudra Pratap Singh

New Zealand (From): Brendon McCullum(w), Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Neil Broom, Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Daniel Vettori(c), Kyle Mills, Shane Bond, Ian Butler, Grant Elliott, Jeetan Patel, Brendon Diamanti, Gareth Hopkins, Daryl Tuffey