Wearing a brave face, after almost bursting into tears at the post-match interview on ESPN-STAR Sports, Sourav Ganguly said he still hoped to square the two-Test series against New Zealand despite his team's crushing defeat in the first Test. In the official post-match interview with Gavin Larsen, former New Zealand medium-pace bowler and now TV commentator, Ganguly described the loss as one of India's worst performances in recent months

He recovered to sound more upbeat when talking to news agencies later. "We have to do our best at Hamilton (venue for the second and last Test) and try to square the series," Ganguly told AFP. "That's all what we can do now and I hope we bat much better than what we did in the first Test." "We just did not bat well," Ganguly admitted. "We had fought back by getting them out for 247 and then we needed to score 250-300 in the second innings to have a contest, but we were all out for 121."

Despite the crushing loss that reinforced the fact that Indian batsman struggle overseas, especially on fast tracks, Ganguly maintained that his team could perform outside of India.

"Our batsmen have scored runs all over the world in different conditions," he said. "It was just one bad game, one bad Test for most of them. The important thing is to get the mindset right and try to bounce back into the next match.

"There are bad days in cricket, but you have to think about the good ones and try to do better next time."

Ganguly refused to blame the thrashing on too much cricket. "We knew we had to play 16 Tests and 36 one-dayers this year," he said. "There's no purpose in giving an excuse of having played too much cricket. It can be hard touring, but that's the way life is. You get on with it."

John Wright, coach of the Indian team, echoed Ganguly's sentiments, saying he was looking forward to an improved performance from the batsmen in the second Test.

"We've been beaten fair and square, but we still feel we have got a strong side. We certainly batted badly, but the batsmen have to turn things around.

"We had an opportunity to take 20 wickets here," Wright said. "If we had taken a lead of 150-160 we could have probably put pressure on them. Zaheer Khan bowled well, but we've got to find someone at the other end."

Stephen Fleming, on the other hand, was surprised by the Indian capitulation and the ease with which New Zealand achieved the win. "We were nervous going in there in the second innings and looking at the fourth and fifth day. We thought we had let an opportunity go by (in getting bowled out for only 247 in the first innings).

"We had to chase and bowl them out quickly. I think it was fantastic to do that. Shane Bond is a quality fast bowler. A couple of guys also backed him very well and, with Daniel Vettori in the wings, I think we have a good strike-power. Everybody contributed. I am pleased with the way we delivered."

Fleming admitted that he was slightly jittery when Sachin Tendulkar was bowled off a no-ball, and then went on to make a half-century. "I always feel when he is at the crease he can add a few more runs than what you would like. I didn't want one of the tailenders to stay with him and get 150-odd runs and make us nervous. I was delighted the way we kept pressure on the Indian batsmen."

Bond, the chief wrecker of India's second innings, stated that he saw Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar as the main stumbling blocks. "Just watching the guys batting this morning, I knew there was bounce in the wicket. We always knew if we managed to get Rahul and Sachin out we could put the pressure on the lower order." Which is exactly as things panned out.

Fleming said he hoped to keep pressure on the Indians in the second Test at Hamilton, which starts on December 19, with the wicket there also expected to favour pace. "India have a quality batting line-up, but we're still encouraged by what we saw today.

"The wicket at Hamilton won't be much different and if we can exploit the Indian batsmen in certain areas I think we'll be in with a chance. We'll have to do that with quality play. We hope to do things very well again and I don't see any reason why we can't."

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