'India will win the series if they bat well' - Ganguly

[Andy]

Australia's strong batting performance on the first day of their match against the Board President's XI in Mohali had no impact on former India captain Sourav Ganguly's view as to how the forthcoming Test series will go. Ganguly said, "India will win the series if they bat well." Regardless of India's revolving-door bowling attack, Ganguly said the venues of the two-Test series help the home team maximise its spin resources. "Bangalore may not offer assistance early for spinners, but there's a bit for them later and Mohali has always been a good venue for us", Ganguly said at the India Today Youth Summit in Delhi this afternoon. He picked Suresh Raina and Cheteshwar Pujara as the leaders of the next generation of Indian batsmen who have it in them to go the distance. Raina, while inexperienced in the Test format, has shown great improvement according to Ganguly. Pujara, picked for the first time in the Indian team to play Australia, has what Ganguly called a "terrific attitude towards batting. I've seen him with the [Kolkata] Knight Riders and he can bat all day, he just loves it." As India's strong middle-order draws closer to the end of its era, the team, Ganguly said, had plenty of options. "There is talent in Murali Vijay; there is talent in Yuvraj Singh. There are many other young players who have got talent, but it's what they do with that talent that is important." Ganguly, who was captain of the Indian team that kicked off India's now-celebrated rivalry with the Australians in 2001, said his advice to current India captain M S Dhoni did not include making Ricky Ponting wait for the toss, a habit which had incensed Steve Waugh in the 2001 series. "The series is going to be really enjoyable and Ricky's a great guy", he said. Ponting and Ganguly were teammates at the Kolkata Knight Riders for the last three years, an association that will most probably end when the IPL hosts its latest player auction later this year. Ganguly said he agreed with Sachin Tendulkar about maintaining and building a team, but thought the IPL had "done well to leave player retention in the franchises hand, to make it their decision". The most essential ingredient of every franchise's team, according to Ganguly, was "identity". He said, "So what happens if Tendulkar doesn't play for Mumbai? If Tendulkar plays for Bangalore then it looks like something different, doesn't it?" As one of the speakers in the Youth Summit, Ganguly's brief speech was followed by an exchange with an audience made up mostly of university students. He spoke openly of the time he took over as India captain in 2000, which is when the match-fixing controversy first broke. "We had some worries once the news came out in the open. We would speak to each other but none of us knew what to do, or to deal with the situation - we'd not been approached or anything." The six month break between seasons that followed made a difference, Ganguly said. "The BCCI decided to take players off the team and we got a lot of youngsters into the side. So we didn't have to deal with those issues, but we had it at the back of our mind". Ganguly said he had not come across any experience to say that matches were fixed "in my entire cricketing life personally, and I can vouch for that. Now I presume those guys, they know whom to approach. It's not just about Pakistani cricketers but players all around the world. Maybe they can just judge someone's character and know they might get through to one player and not another". When he was asked if would ever like to coach the Indian team, Ganguly said, "Yes, not very shortly but at some stage of my life. I would really want to do it because anything connected with Indian cricket is an honour". Ganguly also replied to a question about a 'five-point programme' on coaching that he would give to Greg Chappell, who had a controversial tenure as India coach from 2005 to 2007. "Don't be too friendly with the media," Ganguly said, "be honest with the players and don't talk to them through the media, always work with players, get confidence out of players and stay on the backstage. The captain is the boss of the team."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26092010/28/039-india-win-series-bat-well-039-ganguly.html :hysterical:

[cowboysfan]

bhajji haters might not like this but Bhajji is the most important player for us in this series.he has success against the aussies in the past and if he he bowls well then the aussies have no shot.

[Sir john]

bhajji can bowl well anyday.:--D

[Jersey #10]

When do we get to play in OZ, NZ, Eng etc? I am tired of India playing in Subcontinent over and over again now!

[Sid]

and i thought a team needed 20 wickets to win a test match,cant underestand wat dada is trying to say,doesnt make any sense

[fineleg]

bhajji haters might not like this but Bhajji is the most important player for us in this series.he has success against the aussies in the past and if he he bowls well then the aussies have no shot.

Agreed he is important if we need to get20 wkts, but big "if"

[Andy]

and i thought a team needed 20 wickets to win a test match' date='cant underestand wat dada is trying to say,doesnt make any sense[/quote'] He might have meant, if we bat well and put runs on the board Opposition may crumble under pressure. But like all Indian cricketers even Ganguly cant see how crap our bowling is.

[saneindian]

When do we get to play in OZ' date=' NZ, Eng etc? I am tired of India playing in Subcontinent over and over again now![/quote'] After another 3 months, we will be complaining why do we play so many away matches. Lets have some home matches as well . 3 tests in SA, 4 in WI (BCCI permitting), 4 in England, 4 in Australia!! All this in next 15 months.

[someone]

We can ONLY win the series if we bat well. Batting has always been our strength and bowling our weakness. I see no reason why this would change. So hopefully we score a big total, and the opponents get under pressure and makes mistakes, thereby losing their wickets.

[CSK Fan]

We can ONLY win the series if we bat well. Batting has always been our strength and bowling our weakness. I see no reason why this would change. So hopefully we score a big total, and the opponents get under pressure and makes mistakes, thereby losing their wickets.

started from Perth to the last test series, we have won when our bowlers did good. Otherwise we have lost or drawn even when batsmen have shined

[yoda]

He isn't talking about our bowling cause there isn't much to talk about. :hehe:

[Dinx - the Jinx]

He isn't talking about our bowling cause there isn't much to talk about. :hehe:

I think we have always turned the tables against the aussies with a percieveably weaker bowling attack... take for instance the 2001 series when kumble was injured.. we came on top with great performances from bajji.. this time around i expect an emergence of a new bowler.. could be ojha, could be sreesanth...

[Manny_Pacquiao]

india depend on batting to win games. ganguly is right, all india needs is a strong showing from their batsmen and everything will fall into place. no team in the world, no matter how good their batting lineup is, will feel comfortable when trailing by 500+ in the indian heat. in india u win games by attrition. our guys need to put up the runs and the wickets will come. aussie batsmen have crappy records in india anyway, and indian bowlers always raise their game against australia. there isnt much to worry about. but of course, i dont mean to intrude on the wrist slitters' suicide convention.

[diegovegaz]

and i thought a team needed 20 wickets to win a test match' date='cant underestand wat dada is trying to say,doesnt make any sense[/quote'] exactly dada's ignoring the fact that our bowling is not penetrative

[Rajan]

//Ganguly also replied to a question about a 'five-point programme' on coaching that he would give to Greg Chappell, who had a controversial tenure as India coach from 2005 to 2007. "Don't be too friendly with the media," Ganguly said, " be honest with the players and don't talk to them through the media, always work with players, get confidence out of players and stay on the backstage. The captain is the boss of the team." // am surprised no one commented on this. excellent points.

[ZodiaC]

exactly dada's ignoring the fact that our bowling is not penetrative

When did we have such 'penetrative' attack? We always won because of the scorecard pressure and decent performances by both seam bowlers and spinners. In Isolation, they might seem weak, but they've done the job in past and will continue to do so in this series as well.

[b555]

He isn't talking about our bowling cause there isn't much to talk about. :hehe:

:dito:

[CSK Fan]

We always won because of the scorecard pressure . QUOTE] we have won more matches recently when we batted second. How do you explain your statement in that context?

[ZodiaC]

we have won more matches recently when we batted second. How do you explain your statement in that context?

We always won because of the scorecard pressure and decent performances by both seam bowlers and spinners.

:hmmm: