The Indian women's cricket team sounded a confident lot on the eve of their departure for the 2005 Women's Cricket World Cup in South Africa, starting on March 21.
The team will be led by Mithali Raj. It will be her first assignment as captain of the national team.
"I am very happy to have the honour of leading the side for the World Cup," the 22-year-old said.
"India are the favourites. We are confident after our recent performances which were upto expectations. We beat New Zealand 4-1 at home, and then we ran Australia close as we narrowly lost the series 3-4," Mithali said.
Eight teams -- Australia, New Zealand, England, India, Sri Lanka, Ireland, West Indies and South Africa -- will fight for top honours in the eighth edition of the World Cup.
The teams will face each other in a round-robin league, from which the top four qualify for the semi-finals.
The team leaves for South Africa on Thursday. Their first match in the tournament is against Sri Lanka, on March 22. Before that they are scheduled to play two practice games, on March 17 and 19, to get used to the conditions.
India have never won the World Cup; their best performance was in the last edition in 2000, when they made it to the semi-finals. They lost to eventual winners and hosts New Zealand.
The team, which boasts of two good spinners in Neetu David and Nooshin Al Khadeer, will rely on spin as their major weapon on the hard bouncy tracks of South Africa.
David holds the world record for the most wickets in a Test innings, with figures of 8 for 58 against England in 1995.
"We have two best spinners in our side. Neetu is a world class spinner, while Nooshin is also emerging as a potent force. We also have two very good seamers in Jhulan Goswami and Amita Sharma, whom we will look upon to get early wickets. We also have few good slow medium pace bowlers who can prove effective in the middle overs," added Mithali.
Coach Sudha Shah, who is a former India international, said they special stress has been laid on physical fitness in their preparations for the tournament.
"Our bowlers are confident and I am sure they will do well. Infact, our fast bowlers, Jhulam Goswami and Amita Sharma, had a brief chat with fast bowling legend Dennis Lillee at the MRF Pace Academy, which has raised their confidence so much.
"Lillee suggested a few changes, some finer points needed to be changed, like he told them to look straight while bowling. There were no technical changes, only finer points were advised."
Sahara India Pariwar has announced a three-year sponsorship deal for the team. They will wear the same colours as the men's team.
"I am very happy to announce the association of Sahara India Pariwar with the Indian women's cricket team. For the first time, the Indian women's team has a long term sponsorship, a three-year deal with Sahara," said Shubhangi Kulkarni, honorary secretary of the Women's Cricket Association of India.
Also present was the women's cricket team's brand ambassador and their most loyal fan, Mandira Bedi.
Mandira has been endorsing the women's cricket team for the last two years and urging corporate houses in India to come forward and support women's cricket with the same aplomb as the men's game.
"I am very happy that Sahara has come forward to help this team. There are superstars in this team also, so we should also cheer for them. Yes we have the India vs Pakistan series going on, but also take some time out and cheer for the women's team."
India squad: Mithali Raj (captain), Jaya Sharma, Hemalata Kala, Neetu David, Nooshin Al Khadeer, Amita Sharma, Deepa Marathe, Rumali Dhar, Arundhati Kirkire, Anju Jain, Jhulan Goswami, Anjum Chopra, Karuna Jain, Reema Malhotra.
Coach: Sudha Shah
Photograph: Snaps India
