|
|
| CricketZone.Com | IndiaExpress.Com ApunKaChoice.Com |
 |
|
NEWS Tri-Nation Tournament in Sri Lanka>Dravid, Chappell blame batsmen for defeat in the Tri-series final 10th Aug 2005 22.24 IST By Agencies Skipper Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell blamed India's batsmen for throwing away a good chance of victory in the Indian Oil Cup cricket tri-series final by leaving too much to be done by the lower order. "At one point, with eight wickets in hand and 100 runs to get, we had a good chance," Dravid said after India lost the match to Sri Lanka by 18 runs. "But in the end, we probably left a bit too much to do for our lower order," he lamented.
Dravid acknowledged that the conditions were not bowler friendly, which made the other bowlers struggle, lowering their performance. But he also added that, "they (Sri Lankans) have quality bowlers and it was not easy to get big runs off them in the last overs." While chasing, Dravid conceded that the team did not make the most of the flying start that was provided by Virender Sehwag. On the other side rival captain Marvan Atapattu attributed their victory to "team effort" and the result of sticking to a set plan. "After the initial onslaught by Sehwag, we came back and held our nerve in the pressure moments," he continued that "the wicket was good and there was not much turn, but the bowlers maintained a good line and kept the pressure on." Mahela Jayawardene, who became both Man of the Match and Man of the series, said he had come of age in the tri-series as a result of added responsibility. "Me and Russel (Arnold) planned to see the spinners off and bat through to the 40th over. Fortunately, we had other batters who kept the run rate up," he said. Chappell also blamed the batsmen for India's defeat but said the situation did not warrant drastic changes in the team composition. "We did not make enough runs. The Sri Lankans paced everything well. They batted, fielded and bowled well. We learnt something from them," he said on his arrival in Chennai from Sri Lanka. "As I said earlier on, both bowling and fielding were fairly consistent but batting needs to be improved. We did the best that we could do but it was not good enough. Sri Lankans played very well. We could have easily beaten them in two out of three games, we did not. We've got some things to work on." Chappell, however, said, "The same combination could be motivated into a winning combination." Asked whether the present lot could last till the 2007 World Cup, Chappell said, "I do not know how many will remain in the team. I have no idea. But they could be motivated into a winning combination. At the same time, I do not know when it will happen but they have the potential." On whether India could have won if all rounder JP Yadav had been included in the playing eleven on Tuesday, the coach said, "We might have". Asked to specify as to why things did not work according to his plan, the former Aussie captain said "it is a ridiculous question. I cannot answer that. We worked on batting, fielding and bowling but on the day we were not good enough." Asked if Indian players have a tendency to wilt under pressure, Chappell said, "I do not know. I have not found out that as yet. When you find out, you let me know." On the combinations that were tried during the Tri-Series and whether they needed to be changed now, he said, "We cannot keep changing the combination for every game. We tried something and that did not work to our expectations." Pointing out that there were number of lessons to be learnt, the coach said, "We do not have time to go into all of them. But we learnt a lot. We will keep working on a number of things. We need to field better, bowl better and bat better." On why India failed to beat Lanka even though a second string West Indies side managed a win against them, Chappell said, "They (West Indies) could not beat India even once. What do you have to say for that. Well, I agree that they almost came close to beating India. West Indies is an emerging side with some potential players. Maybe in six months time, West Indies will be quite a good team." On his future plans, Chappell said, "Now we have to keep working on things that we have been doing to get better. But, I have not got that far as yet in respect of preparatory camp for Zimbabwe tour." Also View In-Depth Coverage: Tri-Nation Tournament in Sri Lanka 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 | 
|
|
|