VVS Laxman still has faith in the Indian team

Test specialist VVS Laxman refuses to reach out for the stress ball after India's loss to South Africa in Nagpur on Saturday

Test specialistu00a0VVS Laxman refuses to reach out for the stress ball after India's loss to South Africa in Nagpur on Saturday

As cricket lovers and pundits sweat over India's loss to South Africa in Nagpur on Saturday, Test specialistu00a0 VVS Laxman refuses to reach for his stress ball.

Pressure: Skipper MS Dhoni and premier spinner Harbhajan Singh in Nagpur on Saturday. PIC/AFP

India won their contests against Bangladesh, Ireland and Netherlands, but endured a tied finish against England last month before losing to South Africa at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium.

"I would not take the defeat to South Africa too seriously. Sure, you would like to win each and every game, but I thought it was a very close match; it went down to the wire," Laxman told MiD DAY.

Batting first, India were bowled out for 296 after being 267 for one at one stage. The last nine wickets fell for 29 runs. Ultimately, South Africa scraped home by three wickets.

"Seeing the potential and the talent of this team, there is no doubt in my mind that they will win the Cup. I have a very strong belief in this team and it is good to have tough matches before the quarter-final stage so that the entire team is raring to go in crunch situations which is bound to happen in the knockout stage." said Laxman, who nearly made it to the 2003 World Cup squad.

Wake-up call
Meanwhile, former India captain, selector and manager, Chandu Borde reckoned the loss to South Africa was a loud wake-up call to the team. "After all, it is better to lose now than during the knockout stage. However, I think India were done in by the dew factor. You could see the ball slipping out of their hands, but South Africa deserve a lot of credit for batting the way they did. They were keen to prove that they are not chokers," said Borde, who managed the team to England in 2007, the very year India crashed out of the World Cup in the Caribbean.u00a0 Borde was baffled by Dhoni's decision to give paceman Ashish Nehra the responsibility of bowling the last over on Saturday. "The faster the ball reaches the batsman, the faster it goes to the boundary line. Also, Nehra is short of practice. I thought Harbhajan Singh should have bowled the last over," added Borde.