Ganguly ‘astute’ skipper: Buchanan

“Whether it be with Brett (Lee) or with whomever it might be, the team or individual, I think he’s been pretty astute with the way he’s carried himself and carried his team through this whole series.

“That’s why they’re in the position they are in … Because he’s given them either that confidence or ability to target the team or individuals at key times,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan, whose world beating side was given a run for its money by the Indians in the Test as well as the one-day series, also complimented the visiting batsmen for their tremendous success on the tour.

He said India’s batting line-up was one of the best to play against Australia during his reign and that it had been well led by Ganguly, who has publicly targetted pace sensation Brett Lee in the build-up to games.

“They’re playing some good cricket. And their top-order batting is, as we saw through the Test series, the key to their performance,” he said.

Buchanan was confident that Lee’s positive attitude and love of for the game would help the fast bowler bounce back hard.

“He, like everybody, whether it be on the cricket field or elsewhere, would always love to be on an upper but you can’t be,” Buchanan said. “He’s a person who enjoys life, he enjoys his cricket, he loves playing cricket and so we’ll see that.”

The Australian coach added that the other Australian quicks had been helping Lee out. “He knows his specifics and we’ve talked about lengths .. In Hobart, I think one of the features down there was all the fast bowlers got together and were part of working with him.”

While Lee is certain to play tomorrow, his fast bowling partner Andy Bichel had an injury scare when he left the ground during fielding drills holding his left hand but Buchanan said it was nothing to worry about.

“Bichel is fine. He had a good bowl this afternoon and he’s looking forward to being picked for the match.”