PTI
 
Kochi, Apr 23: Australian opener Matthew Hayden, who had famously hailed Sachin Tendulkar as God five years ago, has said the Indian’s record of scoring highest number of Test centuries would soon be overtaken by his skipper Ricky Ponting.

"Ponting will overtake Sachin Tendulkar in Test cricket record in near future," Hayden, who is here on a private visit, told reporters on Saturday.

Tendulkar, who celebrates his 32nd birthday on Monday, has 35 Test hundreds so far while the Australian skipper is fast closing in with 31 tons.

Hailing Ponting as a phenomenal player, Hayden said he was also "an amazing and exceptional" captain.

The prolific left-hander did not see too much in England’s 5-1 one-day series defeat to India and counted his Ashes rivals as the other major contender for next years World Cup behind Australia.

Hayden attributed the poor performance of the English team to a hectic schedule and trying conditions in the seven-match series.

The big Queenslander, who does not find a place in the present Australian one-day team, said good fielding and effective utilisation of power plays will play a crucial role in deciding the outcome of the World Cup.

"If a team scores about 200 in the first 20 overs, then it will be able to score up to 400 runs," he said.

Big hitters like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, England’s Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff could change the complexion of a game, he said.

Hayden expressed confidence that Tendulkar, who has been hit by a series of injuries of late, will make a come back to top form while also hoping that former captain Sourav Ganguly would also return to the Indian team.

"The Indian team with talented young players is doing well under the guidance of Greg Chappell and captain Rahul Dravid, who has performed well as Ganguly’s successor," the opener added.