Ganguly, Wright feel there is room for improvement

June 28, 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

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Coca-Cola Cup (Zimbabwe)

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