Paarl (South Africa): The wicket-keeping of Rahul Dravid, who donned the gloves as Deep Dasgupta was dropped to accommodate another batsman in V V S Laxman, came in for special praise from skipper Saurav Ganguly as India thrashed Kenya in the last league match of the triangular One-day series.

"We wanted to bat cautiously in the first five-six overs and then take it from there," skipper Saurav Ganguly said. Ganguly said he was aware of the world record but said it didn't stop him from batting adventurously. "At that stage it was important we start getting quick runs. We were not playing for a record," ganguly said. Ganguly praised Rahul Dravid for his wicket-keeping. "I thought he did a very decent job and seems to have solved the problem of a very important position for us." He, however, added that a final decision on Dravid keeping the wickets in the final would be taken only on Friday. Sachin Tendulkar, who was involved in a record partnership with Ganguly, said though he was disappointed at getting out at 146, it wasn't as if he was looking for a double century. "Nobody likes getting out but having got that far, I wanted to bat and make the maximum possible for the team," the maestro said. Kenyan skipper Maurice Odumbe said he was disappointed at missing the last two games "and the money which went with it" but more than that he was worried when his side will play the next international match. "Actually, we should be staying back and playing some provincial sides here." Extras:
'Earlier loss to Kenya was eye opener'
India cruises through to final vs SA

Subscribe to Newsletter

Tags: cricket, india, kenya, skipper saurav ganguly, wicket-keeping, rahul dravid, gloves, deep dasgupta, accommodate batsman, v v s laxman, triangular one-day series, bat cautiously, aware of world record, adventurously, decent job, solved problem, very important position, final, sachin tendulkar, disappointed, maximum, maurice odumbe, international match, provincial sidesspecials, specials_news, specials_2001.

E-mail         To the Editor         Print

Post, View comments

User Comments

[ Post Comments ]

   [ Read All Comments ]

Be the first to comment this article.

Report Abuse Please select the reason that best describes your complaint. Post is... Irrelevant Pornographic Spam Using abusive language Using copyrighted material Libelous Enter the code in the box as it is shown below   Security Code : Are you sure that this is an abusive message? Falsely reporting abuse may lead to revocation of your reporting rights