Dravid will bounce back: Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly Saturday expressed confidence that out-of-form Rahul Dravid will soon come up with a good knock.

‘Dravid is a great cricketer with a lot of maturity. It would be wrong to write him off,’ Ganguly told reporters at the Eden Gardens here.

‘One should not judge him (Dravid) on account of few failures. He is having a temporary loss of form and I’m sure he will come up with a big knock soon to silence his critics,’ Ganguly said after his first practice session since retiring from international cricket early last month.

Dravid has scored only 28 runs in his last five innings, prompting critics to demand his scalp.

Ganguly confirmed he would turn out for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy Plate group semi-final.

The top two sides in plate group would play the super league alongside Elite group teams.

‘I’m eager to play for Bengal in the semi-finals. We are currently doing well in the group league stage and I’m sure we will qualify for the Super League,’ he said.

Ganguly condemned the Mumbai terror attacks but shied away from commenting on whether the Indian team should tour Pakistan.

‘It’s a heinous act and we must condemn the terrorists who are targeting innocent people.’

He hoped normalcy would return in India-Pakistan relations by the time the IPL starts in April next year. ‘IPL is still some months away. I hope normalcy returns by then.’

 

Sehwag says India can win the first Test

India opener Virender Sehwag is confident of the team’s chances to win the first cricket Test on the fifth and last day against England here Monday.

Sehwag’s quickfire 83 off 68 balls gave India a realistic chance to chase 387-run target set by England. India were 131 for one wicket at the close of the fourth day’s play Sunday and now need 256 runs to win the first Test.

‘I think, getting another 250-odd runs in 90 overs is very much possible,’ he said.

On his innings, Sehwag felt there was an element of luck but was disappointed that he could not carry on. ‘I was a bit lucky today and was dropped a couple of times. But I was disappointed to get out. The ball pitched on the spot and turned. I did not expect umpires to give me out as a couple of close decisions had gone in our favour!’

Looking ahead to the final day’s play, Sehwag said India are very much in the hunt. ‘The ball is coming on nicely and if we back ourselves tomorrow, we should win the game.’