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10-20-2009, 12:07 PM
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Ponting wary of Men in Blue
NEW DELHI: Australian captain Ricky Ponting has urged his players to disregard India's unimpressive Champions Trophy form, warning the No.2
The Australians left Sydney on Monday ahead of their seven match ODI series against India beginning on October 25. The stage is set, the battle lines are drawn and the war of words has already begun. But when Australian skipper Ricky Ponting embarked on his mission India, the aggressive batsman took a cautious approach. Instead of using his favourite mental disintegration tactics, the punter sounded a bit of wary. He said, "They'll be particularly hard to beat in India. They definitely play a lot better at home than they do when they travel. I actually tipped them as one of the strongest sides for the Champions Trophy to tell the truth." A convincing 6-1 victory over England, followed by an emphatic Champions Trophy triumph, the World Champions are surely riding high on their success. But the Tasmanian is not taking Mahendra Singh Dhoni's boys lightly. He added, "I noticed that they have made a few changes to their squad as well as for the games with us. We will obviously be missing Michael Clarke and Nathan Bracken again, and Callum Ferguson being out as well means that the younger guys will get an opportunity to set up again." Though his skipper is not hoping for his early comeback, Clarke is desperate to return to his happy hunting ground. With the top spot in One-day cricket up for grabs and pride at stake, Ponting remained wary of the Indians. And the right-handed batsman has decided to play safe before launching his much-anticipated campaign at Vadodara this weekend. 
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