Ganguly bats for result-oriented pitches

Kolkata: The flat pitches at Eden Gardens and Jadavpur University ground, venues that had hosted Bengal`s high-scoring Ranji matches against Gujarat and MP this season, have come in for criticism from former India skipper Sourav Ganguly who has called for result-oriented wickets.

The season`s first match, at the Eden, saw Bengal and Gujarat piling up 560 for six and 495 respectively, and, a few days later, at the JU ground, Madhya Pradesh made 533 after the hosts scored 496 in their first innings. And Ganguly is not at all impressed. "We don`t need a wicket to score 500-plus. It will help if it`s result-oriented. Cricket will be benifitted," the former India skipper said. Lying at the bottom of the group B table in Elite division, Bengal have a task in hand as they host Tamil Nadu from Tuesday at the Eden Gardens. Taking a cue from those two matches, curator Prabir Mukherjee has prepared a green top for Tuesday`s match at Eden Gardens, something that may excite the seam bowlers. Asked about the absence of Manoj Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha, currently on national duties, Ganguly said: "It`s good for them that they are getting chances to play for the country. We want them to play for the country." Bengal, with five points from three matches, are not really in a very good position, but Ganguly said they have a chance to bounce back. Rueing his side`s missed chance for an outright win over Haryana in the last match, Ganguly said: "We should have won the previous match. It was really unfortunate. But we are still a very capable side and we have three more matches to bounce back." A career best seven for 44 by Ashok Dinda helped Bengal bundle out Haryana for 169 in their second essay, setting up a target of 189 from 37 overs. But poor light put an end to the exciting finish as Haryana walked away with three points and Bengal settled for one after conceding the first-innings lead. PTI