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NEWS Asia Cup 2004>Spinner could have proved costly in final over: Ganguly 28th July 2004 12.51 IST Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday said that he decided to try out Zaheer Khan for the final over against Sri Lanka fearing that a spinner could have proved costly. He said although Virender Shewag was bowling well, and had an over left from his quota, it would have been too much of a risk at that stage of a crucial match. "If I had tried spinner in the final over, he could have got hit," Ganguly said after India's four run victory over the hosts to secure a berth in the final against the same opponent on Sunday. Sri Lanka needed 11 runs from the last over with two wickets in hand when Ganguly opted to go with Zaheer instead of Sehwag, who had taken three important wickets for 37 runs in his nine overs. The Indian skipper also expressed hope that stylish batsman VVS Laxman would be available for the final and that the team would be at full strength on Sunday. "We were helped by the fact that Murali and (Chaminda) Vaas were missing from this game. But by that token VVS (Laxman) was also not on our side. Hopefully, he will be fit for the final." Ganguly praised man of the match Sehwag for his all round contribution which saw him scoring a quickfire 81 and then claiming three crucial wickets, including Sanath Jayasuriya, to script an Indian victory. "See how quickly things change in one-day cricket," Ganguly said, adding "Sehwag struck form at the right moment for us." The Indian skipper was all praise for Jayasuriya, who scored his 18th one-day century before getting out on 130, saying it was one of the truly memorable knocks seen in one-day internationals ever. "I hope he has now scored all his runs against us and there is nothing more left in his kitty," commented Ganguly. "It was truly a great innings but then he has been doing it for so many years." The Indian captain also came down heavily on the critics and said that all those who said that Team India was a myth would now be made to eat their words. "All those who predicted that Team India is no longer working, will have something to think about now," said Ganguly, barely able to hide his hurt. He praised all his bowlers for fighting till the end but singled out young Irfan Pathan for his splendid effort of 2/34 from nine overs. "It was a very good performance by a medium-pacer in unfavourable conditions," concluded Ganguly. Sri Lankan skipper Marvan Atapattu was, however, not disappointed at his team's defeat and termed Jayasuriya's dismissal as the turning point of the match. "I am not disappointed. We did try our best even though two of our key players were missing." Also View In-Depth Coverage: Asia Cup 2004 Team Page: India Team Page: Sri Lanka | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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