da casino： Ricky Ponting couldn’t hide his pleasure at returning to cricket after a forced break due to a thumb injury, while Rahul Dravid was far more subdued on the eve of the final Test
S Rajesh in Mumbai02-Nov-2004
Sachin Tendulkar may open the bowling© Getty Images
Rahul Dravid Motivating the players at this stage
I really hope that everyone understands that it’s a Test match and wehave a lot to play for. I don’t think I need to motivate anyone, becauseI really think everyone’s up for it. [But] just being up for it andbeing motivated doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll play well. At Nagpur wewere quite keen to do well but couldn’t quite execute the plans andskills which I think are going to be very important here.The approach to this game
Obviously we can’t win the series here but we have a lot to play for.It’s nice to have some new faces in the side, and we hope to make themfeel comfortable and [that] they’ll be the spark the team needs.Who will be selected
We’ve spoken to the selectors and the team management. We decided thatout of the fourteen, SS Paul and Dheeraj Jhadav won’t be playing.On whether the pitch makes India comfortable
I don’t think any wicket makes you comfortable or uncomfortable untilyou’ve really played on it. It really does not matter what the surfaceis. A lot of times you look at surfaces and think they [will] play aparticular way and they turn out to be completely different. We’ll havea look at it tomorrow and decide on [our] combination, execute ourskills and play good cricket.On Sachin Tendulkar opening the bowling
If we decide to go with three spinners then we’ll have to use Sachin toopen with the new ball. That’ll probably be our only option, but thathasn’t been decided yet. We’ll have to decide between Ashish Nehra andthe third spinner.
Michael Kasprowicz a had ‘flu-type of thing’© Getty Images
Ricky PontingThe team for the Test
We haven’t decided on the team at all. We have a few things to thinkabout obviously with the wicket. [Glenn] McGrath hasn’t bowled over thelast two days because he’s had a flu-type of thing, and also Kasprowicz.But Michael was down here today and he had a good bowl.On motivational difficulties after winning the series
I thinkone of the great strengths of this side is that individual playerspretty much motivate themselves. We’ve taken it relatively easy with ourtraining over the last two days. We feel that our skills aren’t going toget any better than they are at this stage. It’s been more about gettingmentally fresh and prepared for the next challenge.The nature of the pitch
The wicket’s very dry. It’s going to spin quite a bit. Because it is sodry I think the seamers will play a part. I think the ball might gothrough the surface later in the game. So that’s where we are at themoment: whether to play two or three spinners or whether to play two orthree seamers.On Brett Lee’s participation
There’s a chance that Brett could play. He’s worked extremely hard rightthrough this tour. If you ask him he’s fitter now than he’s ever been inhis career, and he’s dying to get an opportunity.The likelihood of young blood playing with the series in thebag
We’re certainly not going to rest any players or anythinglike that. We’re going to pick the best team that we think suit theconditions here. We’ll sleep on that tonight, and make that announcementin the morning.How off-field activities help
We enjoy ourselves as much as we can away from the game. We’re all verygood mates, and when you are playing as much cricket as we are at themoment, it’s important you have other things away from the game to takeyour mind away from it. Most of our players do have that. It’s probablybeen documented over this tour, with Matthew Hayden’s cooking and BrettLee with his guitar playing.The pressure of touring India
There’s been no pressure on us to perform. Looking back to the last Testmatch, I think you could see they were under pressure. And I thinkthey’ll feel the pressure has been lifted off them slightly, going intohis game. It’s a win-win situation for them.What made the difference
Our ability to maintain pressure over a longer period of time. There’sno doubt that that’s what our whole bowling plan revolved around,particularly with our faster bowlers bowling very tight disciplinedlines, and setting fields for that. India have done it on occasions thisseries, but not for the length of time that we have, and that’s what ittakes to win Test matches.His own record in India not being too good
That’s what made not being around for the first few Testsdisappointing. I’ve got maybe two chances in this game to score someruns. I’m looking forward to the challenge, and it’s going to be greatto take the field. So I’ll have a big smile on my face all day long.On Tendulkar’s return
Just having him in the team helps a lot of their batsmen. He’s beenaround a long time, in a lot of different situations, and you can seethat when he’s batting: he communicates a lot with the batsmen outthere, and they didn’t have that in the first couple of games.After the final frontier, what next?
One of the strengths of our side is every time we come to training,individual players try and improve one percent all the time. They trysomething different at training, try and make themselves better players.On weather conditions in Bombay
It’s a lot more humid here than it was down there [at Nagpur]. The guysare all quite acclimatised. The toughest game they had was the one atChennai. Looking at the weather forecast I think it’s going to be 35degrees for the game and quite sticky out there.