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Journalism of Courage
Bangalore, Mar 1: “We will try and force a victory,” said South African cricket skipper Hansie Cronje, addressing the media on the eve of the second and final Test at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.
The South African skipper said he would like to take advantage of the Indian situation. “I think the Indians are under pressure, especially after their recent string of losses. We would be happy to walk away with a 2-0 verdict,” said the visiting captain.
“We regret the Mumbai match ended early. Our batsmen did not come up with a big score. However, we were happy to go 1-0 up.”
Regarding the team composition, Cronje said the team would be decided later in the evening after a selection meeting. He also said both Darryl Cullinan (who did not play the Mumbai Test due to groin injury) and Lance Klusener (who twisted his ankle during nets on Wednesday) were fit and would be considered for selection.
“Cullinan is running around fit and I think he should be able to find a place. We would like to retain the same attack. But it will be decided only in the meeting.”
“The wicket here looks good, better than Mumbai. We have never played here before except for a few overs (Hero Cup 1993). We would like to assess the pitch the first thing tomorrow,” said Cronje.
When pointed out that India had not lost a home series in 13 years and whether this factor would be playing in his mind, Sachin Tendulkar said history had nothing to do with the present series.
“Why should we talk about the past. Losing is losing whether the story is about 40 years or two years old,” said the India captain.
Coach Kapil Dev hinted at including a third spinner. “As coach, I would like to have a third spinner, especially on this kind of track.” Tendulkar too endorsed the idea of having an additional spinner.
