Chennai: India will be looking to avenge its humiliating semi-final defeat at the hands of holders South Africa when the teams begin their campaign in the inaugural league match here on Wednesday in the Petro second World Cup Cricket for Blind being inaugurated on Tuesday. The Indians, who tasted their first defeat after a clean slate in the league phase when the South Africans thrashed them by 10 wickets in a high scoring semi-final of the 1998 inaugural World Cup in Delhi, are brimming with confidence and will be playing under new captain Ramkaran Sharma. Besides the hosts, the teams from England, Australia and Sri Lanka have arrived in the city and had been practicing while the South Africans and runners-up Pakistan are expected here late Sunday night or early Tuesday. However, the organisers don't have flight details of the team. India, coached by Uday Gupte, specially inducted to prepare the side for the World Cup, has a good mix of youth and experience with six new players in the 17-member squad. "Our strength lies in batting which came good in the last edition in which fielding was slack. But we have improved in this area as well as in bowling and hope to win the cup," said Sharma, a partially sighted veteran who was a prominent member of the last World Cup team. On the preparation, the 34-year old Sharma, playing since the first national tournament in 1990, said the team members had been practicing together for the past 10 days here. The playing 11 will be finalised on Tuesday by the team management, he added. The matches, which will have 40 overs a side, will be played with a white ball made of hard plastic and filled with tiny ball bearings that rattle when the ball moves. The normal rules of conventional cricket apply to this with a few modifications. The current Indian team comprises six B-1 (totally blind), five B-2 (partially blind) and six B-3 (partially sighted) players and the playing eleven has not yet been decided. Among the key players in the team are Inder Singh and debutant Shekhar Nayak, all- rounders, Rajendra Varma and Rajesh Singh, main bowlers. South Africa will be led by Rory Field, who along with his brother Scot put up an unbeaten first wicket partnership to surpass India's total of 335 in the 1998 semi- finals. Scot is, however, not in the current team. South Africa, who beat Pakistan in the final to lift the inaugural World Cup, have six B-1, five B2 and six B-3 players in the squad. Rajmata Madhaviraje Scindia will inaugurate the tournament on Tuesday evening followed by the dedication ceremony honouring late Madhavrao Scindia, patron of Association for Cricket for the Blind in India (ACBI) from its early years. All preparations have been completed for the 12-day event to be held in three venues in the city with the final to be played at the magnificent M A Chidambaram Stadium on Dec 14, a spokesman of the ACBI, the organisers, said. Irrespective of the winners or losers, the spirit behind the game of cricket and the grit and determination will stand out tall.
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Waugh still counts on making it to World Cup squad

Tags: cricket, chennai, petro world cup cricket for blind, captain ramkaran sharma, england, australia, sri lanka, south africa, coach uday gupte, world cup, b-1 (totally blind), b-2 (partially blind), six b-3 (partially sighted), inder singh, shekhar nayak, all-rounders, rajendra varma, rajesh singh, rory field, scot, rajmata madhaviraje scindia, madhavrao scindia, m a chidambaram stadium, association for cricket for the blind in india (acbi).