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Ganguly: Three seamers must for effective attack Partab Ramchand - 23 October 2000
Obviously happy at Sunday's result, Ganguly attributed the victory to good batting and bowling, particularly in last 10 overs. "We batted very well today and bowled well particularly in last 10 overs when we stuck to a good line," Ganguly said after the match. The Indian captain was of the view that 265 was a safe target considering the wicket. "It was a big total. Once the asking rate got over seven runs an over, it was always going to be tough. Our strength has been fast bowling since Kenya," Ganguly said referring to the tight line to which the Indians, particularly Zaheer Khan, bowled in the slog overs. Ganguly said he would have chosen to chase had he won the toss, owing to the dew factor. "We would have batted second if we won the toss.'' Later in an interview to a news agency, Ganguly said playing three fast bowlers gave him greater flexibility and he would continue with them even at the cost of leaving out one specialist spinner. "We play three seamers and that's why we are winning," Ganguly said. "Suppose you have two seamers. They would bowl six overs each in the first spell, then you can't bring them back in the middle," he said. Ganguly said on flat wickets like the one in Sharjah, bowling a spinner in the slog overs can prove costly though a bowler of the quality of Muthiah Muralitharan can be successful on any surface. "But on these wickets, a spinner might bowl three good balls and yet the batsman can come down and smash him for sixes," he said, defending his decision not to include left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi in the earlier matches. Joshi did not get a single match in the ICC knock-out tournament in Nairobi and played his first match in Sharjah against Zimbabwe after Anil Kumble was ruled out due to a sore shoulder. He took one wicket conceding 44 runs in his 10 overs. Ganguly conceded it was not Joshi's fault that he was not being included in the playing eleven, but said he had to balance the team in a proper way and could not pack it with bowlers. "As it is, we have at least eight bowling options these days. If I am to have a spin option, I will any day prefer a batsman like Sachin Tendulkar who can bowl five overs of spin," he said. Ganguly said the fact that all three of his seamers - Venkatesh Prasad, Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan - were bowling very well had given him a lot of options. "Prasad has a great slower ball. Agarkar has greater pace and has the ability to get the ball in the blockhole. And Zaheer has been outstanding. He is my man under pressure. Every time I feel the heat, I throw the ball at him, and he has delivered," he said. Asked about Vinod Kambli, the skipper said he felt Kambli was playing well but getting out while trying too hard to prove that he can pull a short ball. Vinod had a problem with short balls before. There was a lot of criticism about his ability to play short-pitched deliveries. Now he looks only to be waiting to pull a short ball which is wrong. If you can't pull a short ball, don't pull. What matters at the end of the day is how much you have scored," he said. "Fortunately everyone in this team is willing to learn. As a captain, that's most satisfying for me." About Yuvraj Singh, Ganguly said he prefers to leave the flamboyant Punjab batsman alone. "He is a fantastic talent and doesn't need to be told everytime what has to be done." He said the good performance of the tailenders against Zimbabwe had given a lot of confidence to the top order batsmen too. The 28-year-old Indian captain said he looked forward to the second round of the league stage, adding that the team couldn't afford to be complacent. He was sure they would come back with renewed confidence after the three-day break. India's two remaining league matches are against Zimbabwe on Thursday and Sri Lanka on Friday. © CricInfo
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