Sport - Cricket   

Disappointing, says Ganguly

By Our Special Correspondent

Hamilton Dec. 22. New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming admitted to being a touch nervous going into the fourth day of the Hamilton Test. "There was a bit of pressure, and I was a bit nervous.''

He said his side handled the situation pretty well in the end, and expected all-rounder Jacob Oram "to carry his form to one-day cricket.''

The New Zealand skipper expressed his surprise at the fact that the India batsmen, considering their quality and record at home and away, could not produce a fifty at the seaming Westpac Park.

Fleming had words of appreciation for his seamers and said the Kiwi batsmen and fielders "did not become flat after we were bowled out for 94.''

He wanted the pitches for the one-dayers to be "hard, true and with bounce,'' so that everyone has an equal chance.

Man of the Match Darryl Tuffey said the pacemen had to work harder in the second innings because the "wicket wasn't as fresh.''

The paceman rated Sachin Tendulkar's scalp as his most valuable one in the second essay — "They (Tendulkar and Dravid) could have easily taken it away from us.''

Tuffey noted "there is always pressure on the pacemen on a green-top. The players expect you to get the wickets.''

``It's disappointing,'' said Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly when he met the media.

``Our bowlers did well. The wicket had eased out a bit in the second innings, and if we had added another 40 to 50 runs, the result could have been different,'' he said.

``It was not an easy pitch for the batsmen,'' he said, but refused to offer the surface as an excuse. "I will not make any excuse, but if you look at the scores in the series, you can get an answer.''

About Parthiv Patel opening in the second innings, the Indian captain said, "the new ball was doing a bit, and Parthiv had shown a bit of a technique in the first innings. We also thought Veeru (Virender Sehwag) could get a quick 40-50 in the second innings. He was going well but...''

Coach John Wright observed that, since the pitch at the Westpac Park had been watered, but there may not have been enough time for it to evaporate because of the rain and the overcast conditions that prevailed on the eve of the Test and on the first day.

``We are looking forward to the one-day series,'' he said. Wright expected the pitches for the World Cup to be flat.

Meanwhile, Match Referee Mike Procter, admitting that he had forgotten to mention the incident to the media, revealed the Indian team had been fined 35 per cent of its match fee for slow over-rate during the first Test at Wellington.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

Athletics

• Indians shine in Hungary
  
  Billiards & Snooker
  
• Chitra sneaks into knock-out stage
  
  Cricket
  
• Kiwis complete a clean sweep
• Blame it on the batsmen
• Disappointing, says Ganguly
• Kiwis win two Tests in a row against India for the first time
• Another awesome Aussie ambush
• Waqar to remain captain for World Cup
  
  Golf
  
• Inter-State tourney from today
  
  Hockey
  
• Azlan Shah re-elected President of AHF
  
  Squash
  
• Mekhala dethrones Joshna
  
  Tennis
  
• Manu, Preethi get top billing
• Sania to train in U.S.
  
  National Games
  
• Curtain rung down on the Games
• Magnificently organised show
• KAYAKING, CANOEING: Services dominates
  
  

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu