If we can't chase 222 we are asking for trouble: Saurav Ganguly

Rex Clementine

July 22, 2001

A disappointed Sourav Ganguly blamed his batsman for their second consecutive loss in the Coca Cola Cup at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. India restricted Sri Lanka to 221, but at the end fell short by six runs; "We should have won this game. If we can't chase a score like that with 4 wickets in hand, I think we are asking for trouble" remarked the Indian captain.

"I really fancied our chances when we bowled them out for 221. This is a game we should have won. This was a good cricketing wicket" said the Indian captain who was not entirely happy with the wicket when his side lost to New Zealand earlier in the tournament.

Things were going well for Sri Lanka with the openers batting well in the first 10 overs, but the introduction of Harbhajan Singh paid dividends for the Indians as he claimed the wicket of the Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya in his very first over. "He's a great bowler. We knew Sri Lanka's batting depended mostly on Sanath Jayasuriya, when Harbhajan got rid of him we knew a big worry was over."

"I thought Suresh Perera batted really well. He's not the worst number 10 around. He batted well. But even then, we should have won the game."

Skipper Ganguly dropped himself down the order instead of opening the innings and scored a fine 69. "I knew it was going to be difficult when the spinners come on. I thought it was best to take the attack to them"

"Talking about my own form, I have been batting well. That can happen in a long career, it happened against Australia, people can say lot of things but you've got to concentrate on your game."

Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya meanwhile declared this game as, "one of the best that I have played in" but he warned his batsmen, "It's a matter for concern. I think the middle order have to bat with more responsibility. 220 on such a wicket is not a good score."

The game was a close affair and Jayasuriya bowled spin from both ends in the death overs, "It was not easy to score off the spinners during that time. The batsmen had to take lot of risks. That's why I persisted with the spinners"

The captain also praised Suresh Perera who won the man of the match award for his burst at the death with the bat and the two early wickets he got; "He's been excellent. We are looking for an all rounder. I was happy with his performance, he gave his hundred percent and that's what we need."

Perera who has just returned to international cricket after back and groin injury was delighted about his performance, "I am delighted. I feel great. This is the first time I have won the man of the match award."

When Perera went to bat Sri Lanka were in real trouble with 7 down for 154 and more than 10 overs to go, "The senior partner out there was Kumar Dharmasena. He told me not to hit any rash shots. We decided to rotate the strike by pushing for ones and twos. It worked very well and we put up a useful 49 run partnership."

Perera also bowled impressively as he sent the Indian openers back to the pavilion before they got going, "We knew we needed early wickets. Because this is a huge ground and they can pick up a lot of runs in singles and twos. I like to attack the batsmen, I attacked and the wickets came."

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Series/Tournaments

Coca-Cola Cup (Sri Lanka)

Teams

India

Sri Lanka