NEWS
OTHER SPORTS
DIARY
PEOPLE
MATCH REPORTS
SLIDE SHOW
ARCHIVES

'Team effort brought about victory'

Indian captain Sachin Tendulkar and coach Kapil Dev said victory in the second Test against New Zealand at the Green Park stadium was the result of team effort.

Talking to mediapersons after the match, Tendulkar praised Devang Gandhi and Sadagopan Ramesh for their superb 162-run first wicket partnership of the first innings.

"It was a tough wicket for batsmen considering the cracks and its deteriorating conditions with the passage of time. But Ramesh and Gandhi did a fine job to take a substantial lead,'' he said.

He also praised Anil Kumble, who returned with a rich second innings haul of six wickets for 67 runs. ''Kumble is our strike bowler. Whenever he went to bowl, he bowled like taking wickets. I persisted with him for the most part of the game as I had complete faith in him and his ability to turn the ball. And he gave the results accordingly.''

The Indian captain also had encouraging words for Punjab off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who also troubled the Kiwis a lot, and hoped the team will play with the same spirit in the next match at Ahmedabad.

Kapil Dev said: ''It was a tough pitch, where the ball was keeping very low, with deceptive bounce. Nevertheless the boys managed to take the vital lead, which pressurised the visitors and gave us a favourable result.''

About the nature of wickets, the legendary all-rounder said: ''A wickets which favours batsmen 60 per cent and bowlers 40 per cent is an ideal track. The Green Park track was a sporting one which saw remarkable twists and turns favouring the home side in the end."

UNI