Dravid, Tendulkar will give India the edge against New Zealand

COLOMBO - India had a setback on the eve of their opening match of the Compaq Cup tri-series against New Zealand here Thursday when prolific opener Gautam Gambhir was ruled out of the tournament with a groin strain.

The visitors will be hoping that comeback man Rahul Dravid will provide solidity at the top-order. The selectors have called Delhi’s Virat Kohli to join the team but he will not be playing at least in the first match as Dinesh Karthick will be opening the innigs with Sachin Tendulkar.

India lost Virender Sehwag before the tournament with a shoulder injury.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: “You can’t do much when someone in injured. We hope he’s fit for the Champions Trophy. It’s a chance for others to prove themselves.”

At No.3 Dravid will hold the fort after nearly two years. Dravid’s comeback has been linked with the young brigade’s inability to face the short stuff in Twenty20 World Championship.

“Dravid is the ideal No.3, especially in conditions during the evening when the ball swings and seams. So he we will bat at that position,” Dhoni said.

Dhoni said that he will keep changing his batting cards that he has done in last couple of tournaments.

“You get conditions when there are less overs and higher asking rates, and you shuffle and shift. We don’t have a fixed order. We have all batted at No.3. It’s not too much of a worry.”

India would be back after a good two months break from cricket. Last time India played in One-dayer was when they beat the West Indies 2-1 immediately after the World Twenty20.

“If we win, you would say we are fresh but if we lose, then we’re rusty. I’m not worried about what people will say. We need to put in more effort than we did in the West Indies.”

In the shorter format, India have done well in Sri Lanka recently, winning their last two series. They have beaten Sri Lanka 3-2 last August and 4-1 in February.

India will also have an eye on the International Cricket Council’s ranking ladder as they can achieve the No.1 spot if they will their league matches and the final.

“We’re not worried. If we do well on the field, rankings and ratings will take care of themselves,” Dhoni stressed.

New Zealand will be looking to make amends after losing the first one-dayer against Sri Lanka. The positives for them would be former Indian Cricket League (ICL) rebels Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey’s successful comeback.

India (from): Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain/wicketkeeper), Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Abhishek Nayar, Praveen Kumar and Amit Mishra.

New Zealand (from): Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins, Brendon McCullum (wicketkeeper), Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Daryl Tuffey, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder and Ross Taylor.