Tags:
Journalism of Courage
SHARJAH, April 20: A dejected Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin said his team had put up an overall poor show in the 58-run loss to Australia in the Coca Cola Cup cricket tournament here on Monday night.
"We played overall poorly, did not bat well and gave away more than 40 extra runs in the last overs," he said.
Azhar said India would have to bowl better and field sharper if they aspire to do well in the tournament. "We gave away 37 runs in the last three overs and this was not the best thing for us," the Indian skipper said after the match.
"We did not make a good start too with one of the fielders giving away an easy boundary," he said.
Azhar said absence of young all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, who is nursing a slight injury, was also felt much.
"Agarkar was bowling well in the last match and his absence did affect us today."
A delighted Steve Waugh said everything went as planned for the Australians. "It was a pretty good all-round show. The gameplan worked well and the guys are playing well," hesaid, adding brisk scoring by Damien Martyn and Shane Warne also helped.
"The guys scored quickly — run a ball and that helped much," the Aussie skipper, who scalped four for 40 and provided the crucial breakthrough by removing the well settled Hrishikesh Kanitkar, said.
He said his team would like to retain the winning form. "It was a fine team effort and we hope to stick on to it and win this tournament," he said.
