Australian captain Ricky Ponting said the bouncy track at Mohali will suit his battery of pacemen more than the home bowlers.
MOHALI: Australian captain Ricky Ponting on Saturday sought to put the beleaguered Indians on the backfoot ahead of their must-win Champions Trophy tie, saying the bouncy track will suit his battery of pacemen more than the home bowlers.
Having seen how the Mohali wicket had behaved in the last few games, Ponting was quite certain that his pacemen would be able to exploit the conditions better than the hosts.
"We have seen how the wicket has played. The Mohali track always has more bounce and pace than the other Indian wickets. I think the conditions will suit us more than the Indians," Ponting said in a pre-match press conference.
He also suggested that India will be under more pressure going into the crunch game as the huge expectation from their fans will definitely have a bearing on them.
"The pressure will be there for both teams, but I think it will be more on India, especially in a game like this. The fans will be expecting a lot from them," Ponting said.
"There is no point in thinking about the pressure. We have prepared well for the match and we have to go out there and perform. The guys are mentally and physically prepared for the big match," Ponting said.
The Australian captain said the week-long break will not have an adverse impact on his team.
"We are not worried about that. It's a little unusual in a one-day competition to get such a big break, but it has actually helped some of our players to recover from niggling injuries and be fully fit".
Ponting also said Australia's failure to ever win the Champions Trophy would not weigh on the minds of the players.
"It's a fact that we have never won the tournament, but I don't think we will have that in our mind when we go into the field. We will just concentrate on what we have to do tomorrow. We want to win this title, it's the second biggest tournament after the World Cup. It's our goal to win it," he added.
Asked whether the injury-induced absence of Yuvraj Singh and Ajit Agarkar will help the Australians, Ponting said "Yuvi has been one of the best ODI players in the last 12 months. He is also a good fielder and the Indians will miss him. Agarkar is an experienced bowler. But there are other players looking for a chance".
On whether he was worried with his own batting form, the Aussie skipper said, "I have not scored much in the last two matches. I have really worked hard on the nets and am looking forward to tomorrow's game. I expect the ball to come onto the bat and that should help".
Ponting refused to disclose whether his pace spearhead Glenn McGrath, who bowled first change in the last match, will open the bowling on Sunday.
"We have a lot of options. We have bowlers who have done well and we will think about it".
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