Collective effort lacking: Azhar

HAMILTON, Jan 6: Disappointed Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin today attributed poor fielding as the single biggest factor in I...

HAMILTON, Jan 6: Disappointed Indian cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin today attributed poor fielding as the single biggest factor in India8217;s 0-1 series loss to New Zealand saying 8220;fielding has really let us down in this series.8221;

8220;I think we had our chances but could not capitalise on them. We dropped too many catches. You can8217;t afford to drop these many chances and hope to win,8221; Azharuddin said after the third and final Test ended in a draw here.

8220;We showed a lot of fight in spells and we showed what we are capable of, but when it mattered we weren8217;t good enough to put the hand up and be counted.8221;

The first Test was a complete washout and India had some good efforts in the final two matches. Tendulkar and Azharuddin scored hundreds in the lost Test while Rahul Dravid became only the third Indian player to make twin centuries in the drawn game today.

8220;We had the right team nucleus coming here. We talked about winning, but when it came to delivering we just couldn8217;t,8221; Azharuddin said. 8220;Wehave let a lot of advantages slip away. You just can8217;t let it happen.

8220;We haven8217;t bowled well at all in this series and it has been compounded by our fielding. Just look at the number of dropped catches. You can8217;t expect to drop catches and win at this level.8221;

Azharuddin said India lacked a 8220;collective8221; team effort. quot;When we batted well, we didn8217;t bowl well or catch and vice versa,8221; he said. 8220;The main problem with our batting was that we didn8217;t get good opening stands and invariably it put the pressure on the middle order.8221;

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A country that produced two of the greatest all-time openers 8212; Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Merchant 8212; is struggling to get a settled combination atop the order.

In the last 60 Tests India has tried out 25 different opening combinations, managing just eight century partnerships. 8220;Our problem is that we can8217;t find a conventional opener. That is a lot to do with the type of flat wickets we produce,8221; Azharuddin said. 8220;It8217;s because of the one-day influence.8221;

Azharuddin saidthe team8217;s shortcomings were apparent and India would have to tighten their game as the home series against Pakistan was upon them.

Summing up the series, New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming said he was not happy with the slip catching, which he put down to the absence of Nathan Astle. Astle fractured his left hand when he was hit by a Javagal Srinath lifter in the second Test at Wellington.

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8220;But the best thing was the performance of our lower order and the spirit of Dion Nash. He showed tremendous fighting qualities and was a big influence,8221; he said.

Steve Rixon, the Aussie coach of New Zealand cautioned that his team should not lose sight of what lay ahead. 8220;You8217;ll notice there is no champagne popping in the dressing room. We have won, yes, and we must enjoy the moment. But we must keep us there and not let it suffer,8221; he said.