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The legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga has said that the present Indian team is good enough to win World Cup Cricket 2007. Sri Lanka’s world cup winning former captain also compared the Indian squad with the 1996 world cup winner Sri Lankan team which he captained. He wants to see Uthappa and Virender Sehwag in the role of opening batsman. Ranatunga also added that Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni will play vital role for India in the World Cup.

NDTV.Com reported:

India should win the World Cup. I have never seen a stronger Indian one-day side: it's well-represented in batting and its bowling crop is very impressive.
It's so good, I guess, that raising the issue of fielding appears a bit improper.
I see a lot of similarity in this side to the one I captained in the World Cup triumph of 1996. It starts at the top and Robin Uthappa showcases the feel-good factor.
I was really charmed by his strokeplay in recent weeks. Uthappa and Virender Sehwag are team's openers in my book. Rahul Dravid should occupy the position I did in the 1996 campaign: hence his slot is between Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Only a player of his quality can shift the gears so effortlessly.

 

Ranatunga cannot be so optimistic for Team South Africa due to their bad performance in the big matches. He thinks Australia, India, Sri Lanka and New Zealand would be the four semi-finalists and the host West Indies would be a dark horse being the host country.

The report also stated:

I would have had South Africa as the fourth semi-finalist but for a disturbing trait they show in big tournaments. They crumble in big matches.
I am also not convinced about their bowlers as match-winners. Shaun Pollock on average tracks is no longer a force: I see only Jacques Kallis and Herschelle Gibbs as their true match-winners.
New Zealand on the other hand are blessed with that essential quality of all-round ability: their batting runs deep and there is really no tail-ender.

 

This famous cricketer also expressed his disappointment for the Pakistan team. To him, Pakistan has a good middle order batting line up but due to the absence of the three strike bowlers, Pakistan will suffer in the world cup.

However, I think South Africa is well enough to go into the semi-final this time as almost all of their cricketers are now in a good form. Except New Zealand, the other three teams, whom Ranatunga asserted as the semi-finalist, are good.