Ganguly wants consistency after breaking the jinx

June 11, 2001

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday wanted his team to carry on the good work after winning the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

"The boys are happy to have won a Test in 15 years outside the subcontinent. We have to build up on this now. It is good to have such a start but we have to be more consistent in winning abroad. We have to be more consistent in playing good cricket," Ganguly said.

Asked if the second innings chase for his team was made easy because Heath Streak and Henry Olonga were missing from the Zimbabwean line-up Ganguly countered saying that had Nehra not been banned they would have got them out earlier.

"If Nehra had not been taken off, we would have got them much earlier. There are no ifs and buts in cricket. Obviously they were a little handicapped without their two main bowlers. But these things happen in a game," said Ganguly.

Coach John Wright felt that Harbhajan Singh is developing his batting skills. "I think is he is developing his batting," Wright said when asked whether Harbhajan has the makings of an allrounder.

Wright said he was pleased with Nehra as he fielded well and batted long enough for the last wicket, adding 38 important runs. "It is giving depth to our side," the coach said.

Wright did not feel that Sadagopan Ramesh, who made 2 and 17 in the match, didn't contribute in the game. "He took two outstanding catches which actually turned the tide of the game.

"I am very pleased with the boys. We have the potential of winning on every ground. I have always felt that. We coped very well. The process started in Bangalore and we took some outstanding catches in this game," Wright said.

Ganguly was not too upset with his own form. "Every time I get low scores I think about the good scores I have scored in the past. I am not worried, as long as the team wins. There is no point in doing well and the team not winning. I would love to score runs though". he said.

"The performance was satisfying. We took some outstanding catches in the match and it means we have gone fitter which I think is very important. We have tried to work hard on our fitness. We have tried to improve the standards of our fitness," said Ganguly.

On Nehra's ban, Ganguly said the warnings came quickly before he could change the end. "He was warned from the other side but these two warnings happened very quickly. We could have got him from the other end straightaway. But he kept telling me he would try and get off the danger zone. I told him to come around the wicket but he was not too comfortable around the wicket."

But Ganguly was not happy with the way India batted in the first innings. "We have played well but we could have done better in the first innings. We could have scored a few more runs in the first innings. Thanks to Bhajji (Harbhajan) and Sameer (Dighe) who added useful 90 runs, we had a decent total. Also, our bowlers could have done a bit better, I thought they bowled short. We should have pitched it up."

Asked if he was worried whether Zaheer Khan would go the Nehra way after he was warned twice, Ganguly said that it crossed his mind. "It did cross my mind but Zaheer but was alright today. He came back over the wicket and he was okay. We have a thought to carry back to Harare when we pick the team for second Test."

Wright too had his reaction on the matter. "I thought it was a learning process for all of us. Monitoring of the danger area is tighter in Test matches. I should have monitored it myself but it is a learning process. As Sourav mentioned, it happened very quickly. We know we have time between this and the next Test match and we have to work very hard on it."

© PTI

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Players/Umpires

Sourav Ganguly

Series/Tournaments

India tour of Zimbabwe

Teams

India

Zimbabwe

Grounds

Queens Sports Club