India dangerous side but Oz best in biz :Ponting

Montego Bay, Mar 12 (UNI) Four years after he broke a billion Indian hearts with a virtuoso 140 in the showdown at Jo'burg, Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting believes that Men-in-blue are a formidable opponent and a team to watch in the World Cup in the Caribbean.

However, that couldn't prevent Ponting from stating that the Australians were still the best in business despite their poor form of late.

Ponting admitted that India could be handful for their rivals in conditions here which were likely to help the teams from the Sub-continent.

''India are a very formidable team in such conditions. And the way they have turned their game around in the last six months has been pretty amazing,'' the Aussie skipper said while addressing a press conference here yesterday.

''The India coach (Greg Chappell) was getting a lot of flak.

But now they seem to have hit a rich vein of form,'' he added.

Ponting, however, pointed out what had been on albatross hanging around India's neck -- a poor record abroad.

''The conditions are probably a little bit similar to those they have back home but they (India) have never been very good travelers.

So let's see how the tournament goes,'' he said.

if nothing untoward happens, India and Australia would be on course for a mouth watering clash in the super eight stage of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Ponting virtually issued a veiled warning to his rival teams who have started doubting defending champion's winning prowess.

''We still are the best team in the World,'' the Tasmanian said matter-of-factly.

South Africa recently dethroned Australia from the Number one slot in the ICC world ranking but Ponting made no attempts to hide his contempt to the numbers.

''It's probably a little strange that Australia are the No. two team in the world but we are favourites to win the World Cup.

''Our team doesn't pay much attention to rankings. Yes, being number one is a feather in the cap but other than that, I doubt anyone in our team knew the difference between South Africa and us.'' This is going to be Ponting's fourth World Cup and it is a big responsibility for him to win the Cup for making it record three-in-a-row.

''It's a special feeling. The biggest ODI tournament in the world. It can be a once in a lifetime opportunity for the younger players. I will be playing in my fourth tournament and I know what it takes to win once.

''For many youngsters it will be the chance to make their mark on the world stage. In the last world cup, Andrew Symonds emerged as a player to be reckoned with. Let's see who's calling is it this time around.'' He said it was also the time for the older generation to bid adieu with one more hurrah.

''In our team, there are the likes of Hayden, (Adam) Gilchrist and (Glenn) McGrath who are probably playing their last world cup but that doesn't worry us. We are completely focused on the task at hand.

''During the practice games, I asked the boys to treat the matches like full-fledged ODIs. Their attitudes needed to be more realistic. During the five-game losing streak we were just doing a few things wrong. While I wasn't worried too much, we did identify some areas of concern -- mainly that in the 100 overs, there was a period of 10-15 overs where the match would just slip away from us.'' UNI