Star146;s entry predict bright day

A demoralised Indian team, beaten in the two Tests as well as the first four one-dayers, will look for a confidence-boosting win in tomorrow...

A demoralised Indian team, beaten in the two Tests as well as the first four one-dayers, will look for a confidence-boosting win in tomorrow8217;s fifth one-day international against New Zealand, its prospects having been bolstered by the return of Sachin Tendulkar.

Skipper Saurav Ganguly insisted there was still a lot left for his team to play for in the remaining matches, most important being the need to return to winning ways ahead of the World Cup.

Oram out with broken finger
Wellington: New Zealand all-rounder Jacob Oram is out of the fifth One-Day International against India after breaking a little finger at practice in Wellington on Tuesday. Oram8217;s replacement in the squad of 12 is Chris Cairns, who is being pushed into the side earlier than planned after recovering from two knee operations this year. Chairman of selectors Richard Hadlee said if Cairns was chosen to play in the 11, he would not be required to bowl. Reuters

Teams
India: Saurav Ganguly captain, Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming captain, Nathan Astle, Matthew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Andre Adams, Kyle Mills, Daniel Vettori, Shane Bond, Daryl Tuffey.

The Indians have lost everything on this tour and are a dejected lot but Ganguly said winning the rest of the matches would enable the team to go to South Africa in a proper frame of mind.

8220;There is still a lot to play for in the three one-day internationals. We have got the World Cup ahead and must get back to the winning streak which we had last year,8221; Ganguly said ahead of tomorrow8217;s day-night game.

8220;We had won almost everything last year before we came to New Zealand. Now we have lost both Tests and four one-dayers but its all past and we want to go to World Cup in a confident mood,8221; he said.

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Fanning India8217;s optimism is the return of Tendulkar, who is likely to play his first match of the one-day series tomorrow. The news of Tendulkar, who sprained his right ankle ahead of the first one-dayer in Auckland on December 26, is a big boost to the beleaguered Indian side which is desperate to make amends for its disappointing batting performance so far on this tour.

8220;He is a great player and his addition will definitely strengthen the side,8221; Ganguly said. 8220;But at the end of the day it depends on each individual to do his job and the rest to do theirs.8221;

The return of Tendulkar will see India fielding a full-strength side after a long time and both spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh have been included in the 12 for tomorrow8217;s game.

8220;We are going to play to our strength. We are going to play the team which has won us games in the past,8221; Ganguly said. 8220;There are going to be times when you lose and we have won more than most teams in the past 11 months. We will go with our best eleven.8221; The captain has also decided to come back to his regular batting slot and open the innings with Virender Sehwag. PTI