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Ganguly lauds fast bowlers
Wisden CricInfo staff - April 24, 2002

Indian captain Sourav Ganguly praised his fast bowlers for a memorable 37-run victory over West Indies in the second Test at the Queen's Park Oval. This was India's third win in 35 Tests in the West Indies, the previous two also coming at the same venue in 1971 and 1976. "Our fast bowlers looked disciplined, especially (Ashish) Nehra and Zaheer (Khan). They stuck to the line," said Ganguly. Left-arm fast bowler Nehra grabbed 3 for 72 and Zaheer took 2 for 55. The two left-armers were brilliant supporting acts for veteran fast bowler Javagal Srinath, who finished with 3-69 off 32 overs.

"Srinath is a class performer. The young guys supported him well," said Ganguly. Nehra, who turns 23 on April 29, set up the Indian win when he removed batting star Brian Lara (47) and in-form captain Carl Hooper (22) in his opening two overs this morning.

"The dismissal of Lara and Hooper was the turning point of the match. We knew we had to get Lara out early to win the Test," Ganguly said, adding it was a good feeling to have won away from home. "Obviously, it's a good feeling. This is the fourth Test we have won abroad in more than a year. It's very very satisfying. I don't know whether it's the sweetest moment of my career as captain. The five-match series is not yet over."

India have won four away Tests under Ganguly's captaincy, beating Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and now West Indies. The Indian captain said his team was a bit worried when Shivnarine Chanderpaul (67 not out) and Chris Gayle (52) were at the crease. The pair put on 73 for the fifth wicket. "We came back into the game once we got Gayle out. We were a little worried when he was batting with Chanderpaul."

He denied feeling the pressure when the last pair of Cameron Cuffy and Chanderpaul offered stubborn resistance. "I don't think we were tense in the end. They were still 40 behind and we needed just one wicket. Cuffy batted well, but it was difficult for Chanderpaul to score so many runs with a No. 11 batsman."

Indian coach John Wright said the win had boosted the team's morale ahead of the third Test, starting in Barbados on May 2. "We've to build on this win. It's very good for our confidence and self-belief. I think we can still do better. We're looking forward to the next Test at Barbados," he said.

Hooper said nothing was wrong with his team's batting approach against a tight Indian pace attack. "I thought from the outset they (Indian bowlers) would make runs difficult to come by. They bowled straight. The thing to do was to capitalise on the bad balls and keep the scoreboard ticking with singles. I think it was a bit unfortunate that we lost Brian and then almost immediately myself. That put the pressure on Gayle and Chanderpaul."

Hooper refused to be too critical of the shot which got him out. "I'm not going to flog myself for that (shot). Basically, I was batting well. Maybe there was a slight error in judgement on the length of the ball. These things happen.

"Nehra picked up a couple of crucial wickets. He's got the knack of coming back and getting breakthroughs. Srinath also bowled well," Hooper said, adding he was disappointed with the result. "Very disappointing. Coming into the last day, we really fancied our chances and it was disappointing how we ended up 30 short. Right till the very end I thought we had a chance."

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