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Ganguly not convinced with Akhtar`s action
Rawalpindi, Mar 17: Pakistan`s tearaway fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar may have put in a fiery performance in front of his home crowd in his 100th one-day international on Tuesday but Indian captain Sourav Ganguly`s comments on his bowling action may leave him fuming.
Rawalpindi, Mar 17: Pakistan's tearaway fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar may have put in a fiery performance in front of his home crowd in his 100th one-day international on Tuesday but Indian captain Sourav Ganguly's comments on his bowling action may leave him fuming.
The 'Rawalpindi Express' generated a lot of pace to return with figures of 9-1-49-3 to help Pakistan win the second one-dayer against India by a slender 12-run margin but his bowling action again came up for discussion.
Asked whether he felt that all of Akhtar's deliveries were legal, Ganguly said, "What do you think, watching on TV? I think we all know the answer, don't we?".
Although Ganguly left it to the media to make its own judgement, it was bound to fuel yet another debate on Akhtar's controversial bowling action.
The Indian captain said the five-match one-day series would turn out to be a very high-scoring and closely fought contest on such batting-friendly tracks.
"It will be very difficult for any side to contain the opposition between 275 and 300," he said.
"The way this one-day series is going, it will be very difficult for any side to contain the opposition between 275 and 300. Whichever side is bowling first or second should make sure that they don't give more than 280 runs.
"Once the score gets to 330 it's very difficult for the side batting second. Unless something drastic happens this is going to be a series of big scores," Ganguly said.
On what was the turning point of the match, the Indian skipper said it was difficult to pin point the turning point in such a close match. "You can't say what the turning point is. You have to fight till the very end. But it was not an easy track to bat on."
"It's been tight so far. I cannot predict, but the way it's going, looks like it's going to be a tight series."
Bureau Report
Asked whether he felt that all of Akhtar's deliveries were legal, Ganguly said, "What do you think, watching on TV? I think we all know the answer, don't we?".
Although Ganguly left it to the media to make its own judgement, it was bound to fuel yet another debate on Akhtar's controversial bowling action.
The Indian captain said the five-match one-day series would turn out to be a very high-scoring and closely fought contest on such batting-friendly tracks.
"It will be very difficult for any side to contain the opposition between 275 and 300," he said.
"The way this one-day series is going, it will be very difficult for any side to contain the opposition between 275 and 300. Whichever side is bowling first or second should make sure that they don't give more than 280 runs.
"Once the score gets to 330 it's very difficult for the side batting second. Unless something drastic happens this is going to be a series of big scores," Ganguly said.
On what was the turning point of the match, the Indian skipper said it was difficult to pin point the turning point in such a close match. "You can't say what the turning point is. You have to fight till the very end. But it was not an easy track to bat on."
"It's been tight so far. I cannot predict, but the way it's going, looks like it's going to be a tight series."
Bureau Report