Sport

‘One of my top Test knocks’

— Photo: S. Subramanium

IN FULL FLOW: Sourav Ganguly was very contented with his gritty knock on Saturday.

Kanpur: Sourav Ganguly rated his 87 as one of his best Test knocks. "Considering the surface and context, this is definitely one of my top Test knocks," said the former captain.

The bowling, he said, would determine how sufficient the lead would be. "Let’s see what happens. We don’t know how the surface will behave on Sunday. If we bowl well and get early wickets, we’ll have the advantage. The lesser we have to chase, the better.

"It is a difficult pitch, no doubt. It was good we got to 280, since the South Africans bowl fast and scoring against them, difficult. A lot depends on how we bowl in the third innings," he said.

When comparing this knock to the half-century he made in his comeback Test in Johannesburg, he said, "In terms of pressure, I would say that the 51 in Johannesburg was tough, since I was making my comeback. In terms of quality and the nature of the surface, I would rate this one."

The left-hander revealed that the intent in this match was to keep scoring.

"I intended to be positive and play my shots because there’s no point in surviving and not adding runs. The key for me and the rest was to keep the scoreboard ticking. That was the only way we could take the pressure off us."

Meanwhile, the South African coach Mickey Arthur predicted a close finish.

"The game is going to be hugely close, and will go right down to the wire. Unless we take the wicket early it will be a very tough day. The wicket is a fifth day wicket and not a second day one. It did play a little better today than expected, but it’s not an ideal wicket for Test cricket."

What worked for the Indians, he said, were the partnerships. "Laxman’s and Sourav’s innings were good. India was able to string partnerships regularly, which helped on this wicket. But a lead of around 20 isn’t much. A lead of 40 or 60 will be tough. I would say the Indians are two or three per cent ahead of us."

While reflecting again on the wicket, he said, "If we were playing in South Africa, we would have left grass on the wicket and played to our strengths, so I guess this is understandable after what happened in Ahmedabad. In a funny sort of way, a wicket like this will provide a very exciting result.

"I guess Graeme (Smith) was right when he called it an under-prepared wicket. A wicket like what we saw in Ahmedabad will always be perfect. It had a little bit of juice for the bowlers, after which the batsmen could cash in. There was definite turn on day three, and if the match had lasted longer, the spinners would have benefited."

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