Conceding he was desperate to score a Test century at Eden Gardens, Sourav Ganguly was a much-relieved man after hitting 102 against Pakistan in the second Test here Saturday.
“It feels nice to get a hundred anywhere, but at Eden Gardens it feels a bit different because I’ve played all my life on this ground,” Ganguly told reporters after smashing 14th century of his career.
“And to have ended without a Test hundred here would have been disappointing,” he said.
Besides Ganguly’s knock, Wasim Jaffer scored 202 and V.V.S. Laxman an unbeaten 112 as India posted a huge 616 for five declared. Pakistan finished the second day at 50 for one and require 367 more to avoid follow on.
Ganguly said his game plan was to stay at the crease for long.
“I just wanted to bat, play on the merit of the ball. I knew it was a fast outfield and that I would get value for my shots. The important thing was to bat long and not throw it away,” he said.
“What also helped was the taking of the second new ball when I came in to bat yesterday. The SG ball gets soft and then it doesn’t travel too far off the bat. But with the new ball I got good value for shots,” said the former captain.
Ganguly said the pitch helped the Indian batsmen.
“The first two days were the best for batting. It was a good toss to win,” he said.
“The surface will be good for batting tomorrow also. But probably after tea tomorrow and on the last two days it will turn a lot more than it’s doing now.”
He said the match would end in a result.
“On sub-continental pitches the game can change very quickly on the fourth and fifth day. The pitch is already very dry and there are footmarks. It’s going to be a result pitch,” Ganguly said.
“The spinners will definitely be the most important cogs. But reverse swing will also come into play in the afternoon.”
Ganguly warned of a Pakistani fight back on the third day Sunday.
“We understand that the Pakistan total in the first innings might be a big one. That’s why we made 616 and made the follow-on target suitably large,” he said.
“But things can change very quickly on the fourth and fifth days and we have to bowl well and then make things difficult for them in the second innings.”
Ganguly said it was now up to the bowlers to take India to victory.
“Obviously, with 600 on the board and three days to go on a deteriorating pitch that is only going to get worse. If we bowl well we can pick 20 wickets,” he said.
India had a minor scare when pacer Zaheer Khan left the field after bowling 1.2 overs but Ganguly said there was nothing to worry.
“Injury to Zaheer is not serious. He’s going to be bowling tomorrow.”
Indo-Asian News Service
