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Dravid all praise for his bowlers

Special Correspondent

GOOD SHOW: Harbhajan Singh, who came up with an all-round performance, shares a few words with the highest scorers for their sides, Sachin Tendulkar and Brain Lara. — Photo: S. Subramanium

Kuala Lumpur: Captain Rahul Dravid commended his bowlers for bringing the side back into the game and ensuring Team India didn't have to shoulder the burden of picking up a bonus point against Australia in its last league match.

"I thought the bowlers bowled beautifully, they are really beginning to put the plans into practice," said Dravid. "Munaf and Sreesanth bowled during an important part of the game, they bowled with pace and kept it tight."

What had he told his mates in the break? "Nothing much really. We just tried to keep it relaxed. We spoke of never giving up. The spirit was good. I'll admit we were disappointed with our batting. But, our bowlers have been bowling well in the last two games."

On Friday's game, Dravid said, "Australia is obviously a very good side, and trying to beat them with a bonus point would have been very tough. It's now a semifinal game." Dravid, who made the point that the scores in the game didn't accurately reflect the nature of the track, said the groundsman had done a good job of repairing the ridge. "It was probably a 210-220 wicket," he said.

Harbhajan's application with the bat drew praise. "One of the things to come out of this game is Harbhajan's batting. He obviously has the ability. We have been giving our lower order a lot of batting — a lot of individual attention. That was the purpose of the camps. It's good that it's paid off with Harbhajan if not with anyone else."

West Indies skipper Brian Lara said the loss had shown his middle order where they stood. "I was trying to take myself out of the game, hoping the others would take over. I'm not sure what's happening at 6, 7, 8 — that's where the worries are. At least they know where they stand. They have a good three says to work things out. In the final we'll revert to Chanderpaul and Gayle at the top of the order and Sarwan and myself making up the top four. We'll have to take the brunt of the responsibility."

On Sachin Tendulkar's return from injury, Lara said, "Sachin is a very good friend of mine. And it's good if he scores because it's attractive. The younger guys can learn watching him bat; he's such a perfect batsman. I'm happy he has come back and is scoring runs. I don't know if he has any doubters in India, he certainly doesn't have a doubter in me. I want to see him do that on Friday as well."

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