Event: | ICC World Cup 2006/07 |
Skipper Rahul Dravid hopes that India's two comfortable wins over the Netherlands and the West Indies will not backfire on them when the serious business of the World Cup gets underway.
 
Dravid said there were some advantages and disadvantages to his side's easy victories in both matches, particularly against West Indies, whom they crushed by nine wickets. 
"With a performance like this, it meant that some of our batsmen did not get a chance to bat, and our spin bowlers did not get a chance to bowl," said the captain. 
"I think the advantages some times outweigh the disadvantages when you beat a top team like West Indies so convincingly. I think what it does to the spirit of the team can be very important as well. 
"No one should discount the plus points you gain from momentum, the plus points you gain from the confidence that it gives in winning over a team like West Indies who had the upper hand over us a lot over the last year." 
India, who are already being talked of potential champions, open their campaign against Bangladesh in Trinidad on Saturday and Dravid is keen that his team keep their feet on the ground. 
"They (the warm-up games) would give you a pointer as to where you are with your preparations and your readiness," Dravid told reporters at a news conference at the Ritz Carlton Hotel here. 
"The games were 13 players against 13 players, and teams were trying different things. I think the big event is the big event. We have won both our games, but we will keep our feet firmly planted on the ground knowing full well that the real tournament starts for us on March 17. 
"We can take some confidence from the matches, and we can learn some lessons from them, but the real cricket for us starts on March 17." 
Dravid was questioned about any concerns he had about he pitches that are likely to be rolled out for the competition. 
There were concerns about the quality of the pitches used for the warm-up matches in Trinidad, where India will contest the group stage with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Bermuda, and the unknown nature of many of the surfaces which have been relaid ahead of the World Cup. 
"We just want to forget about the pitches right now," he said. 
"We do not talk about them too much in our team meetings because what we are focussing on is the performance of our team. We are focussing on the flexibility we can build in our squad, the depth we can build in our squad, and we are pretty confident that we have the team that can perform on any type of pitch. 
"It's not really going to be an issue because it's going to be the same for both teams on any given day, and it will come down to the team that performs better on the day, and the team which does this will win."(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)