 | News |
|
HOME | NEWS | BOLLYWOOD | MOVIES | CRICKET | DIWALI | HOROSCOPE | E-CARDS | COOKING | BABY NAMES | JOKES | E-MAIL ALERTS | ||
InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > India-Sri Lanka Series 2005 > We are ready for the South Africans: Dravid 22.00 IST 12th Nov 2005 By Agencies 
Skipper Rahul Dravid today said that having vanquished Sri Lanka, India looked forward to continue their "giant-killing act" against South Africa, the new second ranked team in ICC One-Day rankings. "We are looking forward to the series against South Africa. They are on a roll. But we have had a good series ... We would like to have a crack at them. They are No. 2 in rankings, hopefully we can continue with our giant-killing act," an ecstatic Dravid said after India's thumping five wicket win over the Lankans in Vadodara. The victory at the IPCL ground helped the hosts round off a spectacular series with a 6-1 margin. The South Africans arrived in the early hours today in Mumbai to play a five-match ODI series. The Proteas, who recently drubbed New Zealand 4-0 at home, play the first match at Hyderabad on November 16. Dravid said he did not expect to beat the Sri Lankans so easily. "Well, we had a lot of confidence going into the series. Sri Lanka are a good team, they have always done well against us. I did not think it would be this easy," he said. "We tried to be positive and backed ourselves. Everyone contributed. It is easy to be given the opportunity but every member of the team delivered. Credit to the guys", he said. "It was a great team contribution. We remained a happy bunch throughout the tour," Dravid said. He said it was not difficult to motivate the team for the last match of a series that was already wrapped up. "We have been focussing on the process. We played good cricket throughout, and it showed on the field today," he said. Coach Greg Chappell said he was "very happy" with the performance of the youngsters who played according to his expectations. "I am very happy with the performance of the youngsters, they played according to my expectations," he said. "What was expected of the players at the start of the series was fulfilled. But they would have to continue to work hard," he said, apparently referring to the upcoming One-Day series against South Africa. Man of the Series Mahendra Dhoni, who received a purse of Rs. 50,000, said it was not an easy track to bat on but the good start provided by Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar helped. "We have been playing on flat wickets in this series but today it was tough. Thankfully we had a good start from Sehwag and Sachin and we were able to capitalise on that," he said. "I don't think the conditions were good for batting. The pitch was not behaving flat. The balls were not always coming on to the bat." The 24-year-old from Jharkhand, who captured the imagination of the country with an unbeaten 183 in the third match at Jaipur, said he had shown in the series that he had improved as a wicketkeeper as well. "There has been considerable improvement in my keeping since we toured Sri Lanka. (But) of course, there is lot of scope to improve," Dhoni said. Budding all-rounder Irfan Pathan was pleased about receiving the Man of the Match award in his first match at his home ground. "I don't think there was any pressure on me. I was hoping to do well in my first game at Baroda. The crowd supported me all day, and all went pretty well," said Pathan, who captured 3/38 and slammed a 23-ball 35. Sri Lankan captain Marvan Atapattu acknowledged that the Indians had completely outplayed his team but said there had been some positives from the series. "Apart from Kumar Sangakkara, Russel Arnold did well and Dilhara (Fernando) has come back strongly. "We need to refresh, take this out of our mind. The Tests would be a different ball game altogether," he said. Sri Lanka return to play three Tests in December. It will be the first time they would be playing a Test series in India since 1997. in-depth coverage > India-Sri Lanka Series 2005 > |
Marigold (Review) The Last Legion (Slideshow) Chak De India (Review) Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (Slideshow) Sachin Tendulkar makes Atherton eat his words Sachin Tendulkar joins 11,000 Test run club Sachin Tendulkar becomes third highest run-getter Sachin Tendulkar stills dreams about century at Lord's Tendulkar to go in Tests with confident frame of mind I am nowhere near the final stop yet: Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar closes in on Waugh’s Test aggregate Aviva Life signs Sachin Tendulkar as brand ambassador I am unfazed by criticism: Tendulkar Sachin Tendulkar becomes first player to score 15,000 ODI runs Sachin's views on keeping Indian cricket at pace with times Tendulkar back into top twenty Entertainment Marigold : Movie Review When Salman and Ali Larter went Jet Skiing Ayesha Takia and Akshay Kumar in a supernatural thriller Sushmita Sen dating Dia Mirza's ex 'The Last Lear' selected for Toronto Film Festival |
