Bowlers, except Srinath, were off target

We bowled short and got hit and when we tried to prevent that, we over-pitched and got sprayed again. Save for Srinath in his first spell and Sourav, who yet again displayed his proficiency with the ball, our bowlers were just out of sync with the team’s requirements.

To add to the problem, our fielding was slack. As the captain, I would take the blame first. My fielding was not upto the mark. We just could not attack the ball and our catchingwas poor.

A target of 258 was always going to be difficult. We did not get a good enough start. Though we did not lose wickets early, we should have had more runs on the board initially to make a match of the target. We promoted Nayan up the order to give the charge. He too had to drop anchor since wickets were falling at the other end. And when we lost three quick wickets, the batting was bereft of direction. I thought the two run-outs were also quite disastrous. We failed to apply ourselves to the job and caved in under pressure.

We have quite a few youngsters in the side for whom the last two matches will be an eye-opener. This game is a great leveller. We won the first match comfortably, but a couple of mistakes and we are now trailing in the series. You cannot afford to repeat your mistakes, hope the boys will understand that.

Having said all that, hats off to the Pakistan team for their win. They batted with a sense of purpose. Having lost the first wicket for zero and with Srinath in full cry,it is difficult for a team to stage a comeback. The Pakistani batsmen not only recovered from a bad start, they scored runs at will, especially at the end. Their bowlers had a good total to defend and they stuck to their job. They bowled a nice line and to the field set by their captain. Congratulations once again to Pakistan.

I was asked at the post-match press conference whether I have a mental block chasing totals beyond 250. Let me assure you, it is not. By and large, the same team had chased totals close to 300 and won a match. Things haven’t gone our way in the last two matches and so we lost. We have two off days now to prepare for the final showdown. All our effort will go towards winning the game on Saturday.