Ganguly, Wright feel there is room for improvement
28 June 2001
Indian captain Sourav Ganguly and coach John Wright felt that there
was still scope for improvement in the team's performance which today
defeated Zimbabwe for the second straight time to reach the final of
the triangular series.
"We got to pull things up. We gave away 90 runs in the last 10 overs
which were far too many to give away on this track," said Ganguly,
whose 85, a wicket and a catch played a crucial role in India's
victory.
"We started well in the morning session but we didn't bowl well in the
last 10 overs. We could have bowled a lot better with the ball seaming
around on this wicket."
On the mini Indian collapse, Ganguly said, "we were 184 for two when
I got out and then we lost four wickets. I would not say they were
poor shots but rather wrong ones. We need to pull ourselves up.
"I thought I played a shot which I normally play well against the
left-arm spinners. But yes, we could have applied ourselves better. I
am still not in the best of form, I am not playing at my best. Still,
it is better to get some runs. I think I got stuck a bit at the start
but then it was not an easy wicket to bat on."
Coach John Wright was more critical and said the team has an "awful"
lot to learn from this win.
"Honestly, if you look at the performance and not the result, we need
to play lot better than that. I think it was a disappointing
performance. We won a toss which gave us a big advantage and Zimbabwe
was a side without its two key players. So we really should have
beaten them easily. We nearly threw it away with some poor shots and
also we gave far too many runs in the field. If we need to be
competitive against the West Indies, I think there is awful lot to
work upon. There were far too many extras conceded. Considering that
we got two wickets in the first over, these guys still got 235 when
batting conditions were difficult. We got to a winning position and
then we lost Ganguly and a few quick wickets. It just goes to show if
a partnership is broken, you lose a few more quick wickets. We should
have a habit of finishing teams off, either in the field or with the
bat. Otherwise you would not be consistent in this form of cricket."
The coach said he was happy that Ganguly got runs at last. "I am happy
he got runs and he can now get it off his head and as for Dravid, he
played just beautifully."
Dravid, who for his 72 unbeaten runs off 64 balls was named man of the
match, said even though he has batted quite well on this tour, he
hadn't played a match-winning innings until now.
"When I got in here this time, I was very determined to play that kind
of knock. I have been batting well so I decided to play straight and
hit it hard. There were a lot of gaps and it is a big ground and you
can find the gaps quite easily and that really helped. When Ajit
(Agarkar) came, we still required a run a ball and I said to him there
is no need to panic. If we bat till the end, we will win. I knew both
of us can play shots and we needed just one good over and it came in
the left-arm spinner's and then Ajit hit a few shots and settled the
issue."
© PTI