India skipper Sourav Ganguly is hoping that the recent string of failures in New Zealand would soon turn into successes in South Africa.

Counting on the law of averages, he said: "Failures cannot stay on forever. Success has to come in the World Cup."

The skipper was speaking to journalists at his home in Kolkata on Monday after releasing two books on him, written by sports writer Debasish Dutta.

He said, "Highs and lows in one's career and failures are part of the game. But we are confident that we have put the failures behind us."

He hastened to add that the lessons from New Zealand wouldn't be forgotten "because we don't want to repeat our mistakes".

Ganguly said it is important that the batsmen adjust to the South African conditions quickly. "The 12-day camp is enough to get acclimatized," he said.

Asked if he is worried about his team being in a tough group, Ganguly said: "At this level every match is a tough one. So, there is no point saying this group is tougher than that."

He admitted being under a "little pressure", but said, "performance on the day of the match is all that matters".

"If we can play to our abilities, we can make things happen," he said.

The skipper refused to name the contenders for the Cup. He only said: "There are several contenders."

Asked if any decision had been taken on the batting order, he replied: "This is one question I can't answer now. This will depend on the conditions in South Africa."