Paarl: Sachin Tendulkar's innings of 52 in India's opening World Cup game on Wednesday was "tame", Holland captain Roland Lefebvre said.
Tendulkar, coming as an opener after a long time, top-scored in India's modest score of 204, hitting seven fours, but Lefebvre was happy his bowlers were able to make the going difficult of the Indian batsman. "I would say it was a tame innings. He started as if he was looking to get his 34th One-day hundred but we made it difficult for him before he hit a string of fours," Lefebvre, whose side lost the game by 68 runs, said. "The bowlers again then got back to their decent line and caused his dismissal." Lefebvre, one of the oldest players in the tournament, said he was not able to believe that his side was able to restrict the famed Indian batting line-up to such a low score. "I think if somebody had told us in the morning you would get the Indians out for 204, I would have said what you are on," he said. Like his Indian counterpart Saurav Ganguly, Lefebvre also believed that the Indian batsmen carrying the hangover of their disastrous show on the New Zealand tour. "We made it hard for the Indians who came from New Zealand and were looking for some runs and hence batted with due care." Lefebvre said his side could have caused one of the biggest upsets in this World Cup had his batsmen been able to set up a few partnerships. "We did not start well and needed a couple of partnerships. From 54 for seven, it was always going to be hard for us. "We had to go through those early overs without too much damage to cause one of the biggest upsets the world would have seen in a long, long time." Extras:
NZ experience has players short on confidence: Ganguly
Tags: cricket, world, sachin tendulkar, roland lefebvre, opener, bowlers, batsman, tame innings, saurav ganguly, new zealand tour.
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