Australian Captain Ricky Ponting expecting a crunch game against Sri Lanka
Australian Captain Ricky Ponting is expecting a tough match with Sri Lankan on Saturday in their Group-A clash in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2011. He feels that co-hosts Sri Lanka will try hard to make an impression in the World Cup by winning the Saturdays’ match-up.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 by a margin of just 11 runs.
Talking to reporters, Ricky Ponting said that Sri Lanka had been one of the favourites at the beginning of the World Cup. Though they have lost to Pakistan, he thinks that would not make any difference. He said the Sri Lankan team was a well composed and talented unit that could give any team of the world a very tough time.
Ponting, under whose captaincy Australia are so far unbeaten in the World Cup, said on Friday that the clash against the formidable Sri Lanka would be the first real test of his team’s credibility in the ongoing tournament. He admitted that the three-time champions http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 had yet to prove themselves.
Ponting said the game against minnows http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 had been a walk in the park and the side chased the target easily against the unsettled Black Caps. Therefore, they had not been given a tough time yet.
The Aussie captain accepted that Sri Lankan pace spearhead Lasith Malinga would be a threat for his team. Malinga, who has made his second hat-trick of the tournament against minnows http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kenya-c752, would give his men a tough time. However, he was confident that his team could cope with Malinga’s swinging deliveries.
Ponting praised Malinga and said he had bowled tremendously well against the minnows Kenya and looked in exceptional form. He added that they had given special attention to Malinga in their meeting with the team management. They talked about the correct way of playing Malinga in Saturday’s match.
The Kangroos’ captain said that Malinga bowled pretty well in the middle of the innings and became more lethal with the old ball. He emphasised that they should not lose wickets in the middle of the innings if they wanted to maintain a winning momentum in the World Cup.
The extensive breaks between the matches of a team in the World Cup have been severely criticised by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749 with their key batsman Kevin Pietersen looking very annoyed with the gaps. However, Ponting did not agree with Pietersen’s views, saying that the lengthy gaps did not hamper anyone and instead, helped all the teams to remain fresh and recovered from minor injuries.
Australia have won the World Cup four times and now have four points after two games. They are currently at the second position in the Group-A.
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