Sourav Ganguly admits ‘great batsman’ Smith proved him wrong
NEWDELHI:Former skipper Sourav Ganguly admits he was twice proved wrong in his assessment, while pointing out the class and resilience of two of the finest players of this generation. Ganguly’s forecast that India will rout Australia 4-0 was proved wrong as the visitors won the first Test before losing 1-2.
In his column for the ICC, he explains why he was off-target. “Not because India didn’t play well but because Australia’s captain Steve Smith decided to make the transition from a good batsman to a great batsman during this series. The century he scored in Pune ranks amongst the best by a visiting batsman in India — and I have seen many.”
On a Pune pitch that was turning square, Smith scored a brilliant 109 to help Australia record a 333-run win. “Maybe playing on that pitch in Pune was a mistake as it allowed even an ordinary spinner like Steve O’Keefe that much bite,” Ganguly wrote. “India was always expected to beat New Zealand and it recorded a clean sweep. England, I had thought, would give India the toughest fight. To be honest, it probably was the weakest opponent. That series was played on good pitches and remember how England won most of the tosses and yet couldn’t capitalise on starts. England never stood a chance if its bowlers were going to concede so many runs. “Bangladesh never stood a chance and it was during that Test that I predicted a 4-0 brownwash against Australia. I was proved wrong.” Ganguly also thought the newly-appointed skipper Virat Kohli may not bounce back after the Galle Test defeat on the 2015 tour. “But I was wrong. Like a good leader, Virat sensed the problem, spoke to his team and what followed since reinforced my belief in him. “The last 12 months have taken me back to my playing days, when I was the captain and Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, combined with youngsters like Yuvraj, Harbhajan, Sehwag, Zaheer, Dhoni and Nehra to pitchfork India as one of the most daring teams in the world.”