Look at it this way, we’ve not lost by 100 runs — Ganguly

NAGPUR, MARCH 19: Notwithstanding India’s loss to South Africa in the fifth and final one-dayer, Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly was a relaxed man on Sunday. Reason: The recent big chases in this series, despite being essayed on home-turfs, have infused the much-needed confidence in the newly-anointed captain.

“We won two games chasing big totals and this was a big gain for us,” Ganguly said after the match. He was referring to the couple of high-scoring games which his `not-so-good-at-chasing’ team won at Kochi and Vadodara, including today’s match which they lost by a whisker.“The improved confidence in our chasing ability and a determined bid to deny the South Africans a chance to chase, which is what they would have opted for had they won the toss, prompted us to put them in. We have not lost by 100 runs. The margin was of just 10 runs,” he explained when asked about his decision to put in the Proteas first.“Sachin and Dravid put us in a comfortable position but Dravid’s run out proved crucial,” he said. He seemed to be happy with the performance of newcomer Shridharan Sriram. “There was a need to score runs when Sriram was sent in. One has to play shots under these circumstances in which he got out but he bowled well today.”

Having got his consolation win, South African skipper Hansie Cronje, however, said both teams were throughout the one-day series in with an equal chance. “We lost two games in the last two balls which could have gone either way but Ganguly and Tendulkar played brilliantly throughout the series. They are very confident about their capabilities and once they are in, they found the gaps and hit superbly,” he said.

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Regarding the excellent comeback by Lance Klusener, he said, “he fulfilled the responsibility entrusted to him and his form will definitely help us”.

He, however, rated equal chances for his team in the forthcoming triangular tournament at Sharjah saying: “We played well here and it was not a cakewalk for India."