South Africa captain Graeme Smith expressed confidence on Thursday that his team can make a fresh start after its unbeaten streak was broken during the ongoing series against India.
South Africa finished one short of Australia’s world-record sequence of 21 games without a defeat last week when it lost by six wickets to India in the second one-dayer of the five-match series.
South Africa’s 20-match unbeaten spree contained 17 victories, one tied match and two games that were abandoned without producing a result.
Smith’s team defeated India by five wickets in the series opener at Hyderabad, but lost the second game at Bangalore.
The two teams are tied 1-1 going into Friday’s fourth one-dayer at Calcutta’s Eden Gardens after the third match of the series was washed out on Tuesday by heavy showers in the southern city of Madras.
”It will be a fresh start for us tomorrow [Friday],” Smith told reporters after South Africa’s practice session on Thursday.
”Calcutta is a special place to us, it was here that we returned to international cricket after a long absence,” he said.
Banished from world cricket for its apartheid policy, South Africa played its first one-day international at Calcutta in 1991 when the International Cricket Council lifted the suspension.
”With the series level at 1-1, we’re now looking for two finals,” said Smith.
”We’ve come to India to prepare a new side with the 2007 World Cup in view,” he said.
Indian captain Rahul Dravid said evening dew will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the day-night contest.
”This is a crucial game and the toss will play a big role as the dew factor comes into play out here,” Dravid said.
India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar is set to create a new world record by playing in his 357th limited-overs internationals.
Tendulkar currently shares the mark with Pakistan’s former captain Wasim Akram, both having played in 356 one-dayers.
”It’s going to be a special occasion for him and all of us,” Dravid said. – Sapa-AP