The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Indians upbeat, look to wrap up series

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 07, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Indians upbeat, look to wrap up series

Amitabha Das Sharma

SILCHAR: Expectations were high on both sides as Indian and English eves geared up for their crucial fourth meeting of the five-match ODI series here on Wednesday. The home side, up 2-1 in the count having notched up an eight-wicket win in the last match at Guwahati, looked ahead to continue its run of success and wrap up the series.

On the other hand the visitor banked on the youthfulness and resilience of the team and was keen to claw back into the series.

Positive frame of mind

Having steered the team to a leading position after recovering from a loss in the first match of the fixture, Indian captain Mithali Raj put out the best lines of conviction about the duel.

``We are confident and approaching the match with a positive frame of mind,'' she said.

English vice-captain Aaran Brindle said that her team will be looking to shake off the rough patch and ``try out something new to turn things around in our favour.''

Newton returns home

The English camp had some worries before the match as its opening bat, Laura Newton, had to be flown back to London with a fractured little finger on her left hand.

The result of the match notwithstanding, the Indian women's cricket will stand to gain from the match as the organisers are planning to announce a monetary grant for the National association. The venue — Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium will be hosting its first official international match.

The teams: India (from): Mithali Raj (capt.), Anjum Chopra, Jaya Sharma, Neetu David, Jhulan Goswami, Monica Sumra, Amita Sharma, Asha Rawat, Noushin Al-Khadeer, Reema Malhotra, Karuna Jain, Rumeli Dhar, S.K. Shravanthi Naidu and Varsha Raphael.

England (from): Charlotte Edwards (capt.), Arran Brindle, Caroline Atkins, Rosalie Birch, Lydia Greenway, Isa Guha, Jenny Gunn, Laura Harper, Beth Morgan, Jane Smit, Claire Taylor, Joanna Watts and Nicola Shaw.

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