Durban: England skipper Nasser Hussain grudgingly admitted his team was "outplayed" by India while rival captain Saurav Ganguly, pepped up by the emphatic 82-run win on Wednesday, said the team was now eyeing victory in the "big game" against Pakistan. Hussain blamed the conditions for putting the team in a disadvantage but had to admit that India proved to be better side. "They outplayed us. Their discipline was very good," Hussain said but added "the conditions did help (India) a little bit under lights". "Under lights it just zipped off the wicket a little bit quicker. It's no excuse but a fact," Hussain said after England was bundled out for 168 in 45.3 overs in reply to India's 250 for nine. India walloped England to claim their fourth win in five World Cup games to almost assure itself a berth in the Super Sixes, while England will now have to defeat Australia to entertain any hopes of further progress in the tournament. Ganguly said the win against England had lessened the pressure to qualify for the next round. "The win here has probably given us a very good chance to qualify for the Super Six. So obviously the pressure is a bit less for us in terms of qualification. But that's one big game (against Pakistan) we want to win." The Bengal southpaw also saluted his fast bowler Ashish Nehra for overcoming the pain barrier and returning the third best figures ever in the history of World Cup. "He had to go through a fitness test in the morning. He came through the pain barrier and produced a spell which I rate as the best from a fast bowler I have seen during my tenure as captain of India," Ganguly said. Nehra took 6 for 23 from his 10 overs and routed the Englishmen with a superb spell of controlled, hostile fast bowling. He bowled his quota of overs in a stretch and vomited in his final over before going down on his knees twice but by then he had done his job. Ganguly said it was a great show of character from Nehra. "A physio can put in an effort, the coach can do his bit and a captain can exhort his team. But at the end of the day, it is the player himself who has to make the decision. "At the end of the day it was a great show of character," Ganguly said. Ganguly also had a word of praise for his batsmen, especially Sachin Tendulkar and the way he batted at the start of the Indian innings. "I think he trusted the bounce of this wicket a lot more than he trusted in other games. That's why he could bat so freely. It was the best I have seen him bat right throughout the tournament. "We batted outstandingly well to get to 250. We were a little slow in the middle overs but then Yuvraj and Dravid played outstandingly well to get to 250." But the Indian skipper did admit his batsmen were losing a bit of momentum in the middle of the innings. "It's happened in the last couple of games that we have lost a little in the middle. That's what we have to work on," he said. "But we also have this plan to conserve wickets in the final overs. As the wickets go in South Africa, the new ball does a little, there is a bit of bounce and carry and as it goes older, then the runs come a lot easier," Ganguly said. Hussain felt the first 10 overs were the best period to bat as the sun was out and winds were gusty. Things changed, Hussain said, when the cloud cover came and the ball zipped around. "But we showed a little bit of inexperience in the last 10 overs. We have lacked a death bowler for a little while now... We were lucky in Cape Town but we were unlucky here," Hussain said referring to the previous league game against Pakistan in Cape Town where his team batted first and made 246 runs and then bundled out the opposition for 134 runs. Hussain was full of praise for Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and then said the Indians' lower half invariably does well against England. "Sachin Tendulkar was brilliant and so was Rahul Dravid. Their lower middle order has always done well against us in the past. To have Yuvraj come at number six and Mohammed Kaif at number seven is a big bonus. "We tried our hardest and we were probably one-wicket away from exerting pressure and that's why I kept Andrew Flintoff on. He bowled impeccably. He does things what other people can't do. To run in and bowl two for 16 against that line-up was very good." Hussain said there was no disgrace for his fast bowler James Anderson to come off second best in the contest against Tendulkar. "I am not worried about Anderson. He bowled a couple of good overs to Sehwag. He will have days like this. He's got to learn and there's no better stage to learn than to bowl to Tendulkar. When you have a player like Tendulkar batting like that, it's a big test for everyone," Hussain conceded. Hussain also praised man-of-the-match Ashish Nehra. "He hit the deck hard, nibbled a little both ways and is a little bit quicker than he was in England," he said. "The two left-armers bowled very well and didn't give us any free balls," a disappointed Hussain said. Ganguly said he was satisfied with the total the team put on the board. "These are not 300-plus wickets as it happens in the sub continent. A 250-260 is a winning total on these tracks. The way our bowlers are bowling, every time we put 250 on the board, and the bowlers can maintain the intensity, we are going to win." Ganguly was not too critical of Dinesh Mongia who took 66 balls for his 32 runs and generally retarded the team's progress. "I think he (Mongia) needs to get on with the batting a bit. When you come on to international stage, everyone has got pressure. He has got pressure to establish himself in the team. But he will learn. I have seen him bat far more positively than he has in this tournament." Nehra was modest in his moment of triumph and gave credit to Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan for exerting pressure on the English batsmen in the initial overs. "I would like to give credit to Srinath and Zaheer. They kept the scoring down to 25 for 2 in the first 13 overs and bowled with great control." Nehra praised trainer Adrian le Roux for helping him with fitness. "I am bowling quicker and it's largely because of our trainer Adrian le Roux working hard on us. Fast bowling is a lot about fitness." Nehra, who played his first game in the World Cup against Namibia and could bowl just one ball before spraining his left ankle, said it was a good wicket to bowl on under the lights. "It was a good wicket to bowl on and I was just trying to bowl good line and length." Nehra confessed he was a great fan of Wasim Akram even though he said he had not modelled himself on the Pakistani legend. "I haven't modelled myself on anyone but I am a great fan of Wasim Akram." Nehra said he had vomited in his final over probably because he had taken a banana. "I had a little bit of banana in the final over and was feeling uneasy. "Before the World Cup, I just wanted to do my best for the team and the country. If I could help my team to win the World Cup, it would be great," the 23-year-old said. Extras:
Nehra has England 'spell' bound with record 6/23

Tags: cricket, durban, saurav ganguly, teammates, run, victory, england, match, pakistan, one big game, win, tournament, super six stage, pressure, high-voltage, great chance to qualify, left-arm seamer ashish nehra, ankle sprain, physio andrew leipus, australia, skipper nasser hussain, zaheer khan, sachin tendulkar, virender sehwag, andrew flintoff, all-round performance.