Ganguly: Three seamers must for effective attack
Sourav Ganguly © AllSport 1999 It was a more relaxed - and in a way relieved - Sourav Ganguly who spoke to reporters in Sharjah
Partab Ramchand
23-Oct-2000
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© AllSport 1999 |
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.