Mumbai coach wants Durban success again

Mumbai Indians assistant coach Praveen Amre confident the team can repeat the success he had in Durban, 1992

Mumbai coach wants Durban success again

Mumbai Indians assistant coach Praveen Amre confident the team can repeat the success he had in Durban, 1992

Praveen Amre fondly remembers Sahara Stadium Kingsmead and he is hoping that the good times he had here with Mohammad Azharuddin's first Indian team will continue when the Mumbai Indians meet the Rajasthan Royals.

Amre, assistant coach of the Mumbai Indians, was the first cricketer of colour to score a Test century at this venue against South Africa and that too on debut.

"It may have been a long, long time ago but I still have fond memories of this ground," Amre said soon after the Mumbai Indians finished their practice session.

"That century was my only one in 11 Tests and is still a talking point whenever I meet friends who were with me on that tour. It was great because I achieved it against bowlers Allan Donald, Meyrick Prince and Brian McMillan u2013 three of the best quick bowlers around at the time."

Now, 40-year-old Amre's focus is on taking the Mumbai Indians to glory in the lucrative IPL and he believes his squad oozes with talent to achieve that goal.

He also believes they have had the right preparations going into the matches as their pre-tournament camp in South Africa proved highly successful.

"It all came together in the opener in Cape Town on Saturday," he said with a wry smile. "All we need to do is build on that success."

Amre is looking forward to another good all-round performance.

Sachin Tendulkar will once again be the key while batting but the man who could light up the stadium is Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya, who played part of the summer here for the Nashua Dolphins with muted success.

The prolific Sri Lankan opener knows the conditions and the track well and he could be the destroyer in chief for the Mumbai Indians.

"It's a strong all-round squad," Amre said. "We will not bask in the glory of the opening game but we will go out and play to the best of our abilities.

"I believe the track will suit us better as we have played a few games here recently. We know it well and have been advised well by Shaun (Pollock) and Jonty (Rhodes) who have grown up playing here."

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