Pakistan captain urges team to work harder against India by AFP

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Player:	Inzamam-ul-Haq
Event:	India in Pakistan 2005/06

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DateLine: 12th February 2006

 

Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul Haq has urged his players to work hard to stop the back-in-form Indian team, saying his team needs to improve their overall game and especially their fielding.

 

"This one-day series is still open and I think the team that fields well in the remaining three matches will run away with a series victory," Inzamam said ahead of the third match of the five-match series here on Monday.

 

India excelled in all three departments in their impressive seven-wicket win in the second match at Rawalpindi on Saturday to level the series at 1-1.

 

The Pakistani captain said his side was capable of staging a comeback.

 

"Getting beaten in one match doesn't really make a big difference. This team is capable of fighting back and winning again," said Inzamam, whose team won the first match by seven runs at Peshawar.

 

Pakistan's efforts to put up a big total after winning the toss were not helped by four run-outs as they were dismissed for 265 in 49.2 overs, a total that India surpassed for the loss of three wickets and with 6.5 spare overs.

 

Inzamam hoped pace spearhead Shoaib Akhtar would return to the fold after missing the first two matches due to an ankle injury.

 

"Akhtar will surely play and with his inclusion the bowling attack will be considerably strengthened, having an experienced bowler will make a big difference to our morale and strength," Inzamam said.

 

A sell-out crowd is expected for the day-night match with a large contingent of Indian fans expected to cross the border to watch cricket.

 

An upbeat Indian captain Rahul Dravid said his side would not get carried away with the Rawalpindi win.

 

"I think we played some good cricket to win, so I think it's going to be a good series but it doesn't mean that we can turn up the next day in a hope that we will win.

 

"We have to play well in the remaining matches to win," Dravid said.

 

Dravid termed the presence of good fielders in the side as a huge plus.

 

"Having fielders like Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh give us edge as they are class fielders."

 

Dravid said he was surprised at Inzamam's decision to bat first in the Rawalpindi match.

 

"To be honest, I would have fielded first. I didn't expect him to bat first... Pakistan's decision to bat first stumped everyone," he said.

 

India is also sweating on the fitness of off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who also missed both the matches due to a right hand finger injury.

 

Teams (from):

 

India: Rahul Dravid (capt), Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Suresh Raina, Mahendra Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Sri Sreesanth, Murali Kartik, Harbhajan Singh, Ramesh Powar

 

Pakistan: Inzamam-ul Haq (capt), Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Imran Farhat, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Faisal Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Shoaib Akhtar, Umer Gul, Arshad Khan, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Asif

 

Umpires: Simon Taufel (AUS), Asad Rauf (PAK)

 

TV Umpire: Zameer Haider (PAK)

 

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

(Article: Copyright © 2006 AFP)