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Mohali (Punjab), Oct 31: Australia, which goes into the Champions Trophy semi-final against New Zealand here tomorrow, is in no mood to take their opponents lightly.
The Kiwis, though have an underdog tag, can still spring a surprise as they have a number of all-rounders in their ranks.
Aussies skipper Ricky Ponting has told his teammates to guard against complacency as a drop in intensity level could prove disastrous.
"We want to win this title, it's the second biggest tournament after the World Cup. It's our goal to win it", Ponting said.
Although most matches in this high-profile event have turned out to be low-scoring affairs, the last Group A tie between India and Australia saw some runs being scored and it remains to be seen whether the script unfolds in a similar way on the morrow.
The Aussies had no difficulty in overhauling India's score of 249 for eight and the convincing six-wicket victory has given the team a fresh aura of invincibility after their stunning defeat to the West Indies in their opening match.
The batsmen will have to deliver the goods and the return to form of Ponting is a positive sign for the team which had made it to the semi-finals on two earlier ocassions but has never managed to go beyond that stage.
Having seen how the Mohali wicket has behaved in the last few games, Ponting was quite certain that his pacemen would be able to exploit the conditions.
"We have seen how the wicket has played. The Mohali track always has more bounce and pace than the other Indian wickets. I think the conditions will suit us," he said.
Ponting also said that Australia's failure to win the Champions Trophy would not weigh on the minds of the players.
"It is a fact that we have never won the tournament, but I don't think we will have that in our mind when we go into the field. We will just concentrate on what we have to do tomorrow".
The New Zealanders will be heavily depending on their in-form captain Stephen Fleming for putting up a big total on the board. They have some other good batsmen in Lou Vincent and Nathan Astle who can be quite destructive on their day.
Much will depend on how pace spearhead Shane Bond performs as he has a key role to play while spinner Daniel Vettori also has his task cut out.
New Zealand have a number of useful all-rounders which gives them a lot of depth in batting but the same also holds true for the world champions who have a lot more flexibility and balance in the team with all-rounder Shane Watson opening the batting. (Agencies)
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