Kolkata: Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly on Tuesday night said World Cup champion Australia was not invincible and contended that his team suffered as the 'excited Indian youngsters' probably could not handle the pressure and put in 'too much effort' in the final. "The youngsters in my team handled the pressure well in the Super Six and the semi- final. But they probably got too excited in the final and put in too much effort," Ganguly told reporters at his residence on his return from South Africa via Mumbai. The Indian skipper said the Indian pacers had bowled poorly and Australia benefitted greatly from the 37 extra runs. Asked whether Australia were beatable, Ganguly said, "I think so. They are a very good side. But one should not forget that they had two close games also," he said. Referring to India's defeat to the Aussies in the league stage at Centurion, Ganguly said India batted and bowled poorly there. Ganguly also defended his decision to field first after winning the toss in the final saying, "we had a game-plan. But it did not work out as the match progressed." Asked whether he intended to open the batting again in near future, Ganguly said, "Viru (Virender Sehwag) is playing well. However, batting positions are always changeable. And who will come at number three or four depends on how we fare in future." On whether he was satisfied with his own batting, Ganguly reminded the scribes that he had scored 465 runs including three hundreds. "But for me, what is more important is that the team has played well," he added. The Indian skipper also lavishly praised batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, who was adjudged man-of-the-tournament. Expressing satisfaction with India's performance in the Cup, Ganguly said the team had won eight matches consecutively. "We had lost just one game in the early part of the cup but unfortunately there was too much of a reaction on that back home." Asked if he now regretted more the loss in the final after receiving such a warm reception on returning home from South Africa, Ganguly said, "Of course, it would have been great to win the cup. But nobody regrets the defeat in the final more than the 15 members of the team." Extras:
We achieved all targets, except win the WC: Ganguly
'It's Aussies and not the occasion that put India off'

Tags: cricket, world cup 2003, saurav ganguly, virender sehwag, sachin tendulkar, man-of-the-tournament.