The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Ganguly hails Dhoni's feat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 06, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Ganguly hails Dhoni's feat

By G. Narasimha Rao

VISAKHAPATNAM, APRIL 5. It's good that a (regular) wicketkeeper is batting well, observed the Indian captain, Saurav Ganguly, on the good knock by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Ganguly said winning the toss here was crucial. Getting a good start would make it possible to win all the 10 matches.

On his form, he said he was able to contact the ball well. "But what I need is a little bit of luck,'' he added.

Asked if the five batsmen and five bowler format was a good option for the team, Ganguly said part-time bowlers were also doing a good job.

Dhoni was pleased with both his batting and wicket keeping. "It was a good opportunity and I grabbed it. I was not at all surprised when I was sent at one down," Dhoni said.

"We did not bowl well and lost to a better side. No excuses. We need to play a lot better,'' said the Pakistan coach, Bob Woolmer.

Pakistan did not do the right things at the right time. "Our batsmen did well despite losing Afridi early. But we lost wickets at the crucial stages later," Woolmer said. The weather was not bad and India fielded well under hot conditions, he said. He also described Dhoni's knock as outstanding.

Woolmer hoped his team would come back into the series. However, he was not ready to make any comments on the composition of the team for the next match. The Pakistani coach was hopeful that Younis Khan would be fit for the next game.

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