The Hindu : No excuses, says Ganguly

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 15, 2002

Sport

Sport - Cricket

No excuses, says Ganguly

By Our Special Correspondent

Wellington Dec. 14. Indian captain Sourav Ganguly accepted that his team had batted in a disappointing manner in the first Test at the Basin Reserve.

"We didn't bat well at all on a seaming pitch. Our batsmen have scored runs all over the world, in different pitches, but this was a bad game, a bad Test for us. The important thing is to get out mindset right and get ready for the second Test," Ganguly said.

He went on: "There are good days and bad days in cricket, and you think about the good days and try and get better the next time."

He refused to offer the Indian team's hectic schedule this year as an excuse.

"It can be hard travelling, but that's the way life is. You got to get on with it."

"We needed to get 250 to 275 in the second innings to put pressure on New Zealand, but we could not do that," admitted Ganguly.

Coach John Wright said the Basin Reserve pitch seamed and bounced more than the Napier surface where the Indians played Central Districts in a three-day game. "The wicket seamed and bounced. We had to adjust. We didn't manage that. We've been beaten fair and square."

"It is important for the Indians to see off the new ball," he said and did not rule out a shuffle in the batting order. The coach added that paceman Zaheer Khan's performance was heartening.

Stephen Fleming expressed happiness with the bounce at the Basin Reserve pitch and expected the wicket for the second Test at Hamilton to behave in a similar fashion.

About Mark Richardson, the Kiwi captain said, "He showed character," and reiterated that paceman Shane Bond had made a lot of difference to the Kiwi attack.Fleming admitted he was slightly worried that Tendulkar might rally with the tailenders, setting New Zealand a target of 150 or 160.

Bond, clearly the man who made a difference, had this to say about scalping two illustrious batsmen: "Obviously, the have got big reputations, but it was awesome to get the wickets of Tendulkar and Dravid." On bowling Tendulkar earlier only to find the umpire signalling a no-ball he said, "I was ready to tear my hair!"

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