Our confidence is high: Ganguly

By K.C. Vijaya Kumar

BANGALORE, MARCH 24. India's 2-1 Test series victory certainly reflected in the rival camps' attitude towards the pre-match press conference on the eve of the Pepsi series one-dayer here at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

``They (Aussies) are a good one-day side but we have been performing well in the last six months and the Test series victory has obviously helped our confidence,'' said Indian skipper Ganguly.

The Aussies camp meanwhile was muted with John Buchanan doing all the talking and Steve Waugh focussing on the nets.

``It has been a fantastic Test series but one-dayers are a different ball game. We had consecutive Tests and I guess players of both teams are feeling tired. We have five new players and that will be a difference. And we hope to win more matches in India,'' Buchanan said.

Harbhajan Singh and Shane Warne did figure high in the pre-match talk. ``He (Warne) showed tremendous spirit in the Test series,'' Buchanan said.

The damage control exercise was evident as Buchanan had made disparaging remarks about Warne prior to the Chennai Test which had ruffled the team management.

The Harbhajan factor did rankle the Aussies. ``We will play him more with the bat rather than pads. I guess he will adopt a different line,'' Buchanan said while Ganguly's grin widened when reporters mentioned the young Sikh. ``Harbhajan was splendid,'' Ganguly said.

But when it was pointed out that Harbhajan claimed all the wickets while others failed, he said, ``I don't know whether it is good luck or bad luck but the fact is we won the series. Getting wickets is not everything. In Chennai, Nilesh (Kulkarni) bowled a restrictive line. Our attack is decent and now with (Jason) Gillespie returning to Australia with an injury, (Glenn) McGrath will be their main bowler.''

Ganguly was very relaxed despite queries on his poor form, especially against fast bowling. ``I have played around 160 one- dayers and 40 Tests, there is always pressure. That is cricket. Remember I open in one-dayers and I am always facing fast bowling. In Tests, I have had just three innings against the West Indies. Against the Aussies, I have had 70 plus scores. Unfortunately I have failed to get a century. All players go through these phases, even Mr. Sunil Gavaskar has had his rough patches,'' Ganguly said.

Yuveraj Singh's absence was raked up as the southpaw's 84 had helped India defeat Australia in the ICC Knockout tournament in Nairobi last year. Ganguly had encouraging words for the youngster. ``He is a good player but in the last few months he is out of form. He is definitely part of our plans,'' he said.

``We will discuss the line-up in the evening,'' said Indian coach John Wright. V.V.S. Laxman's batting slot stirred a debate and Wright replied, ``Laxman has played Warne well. Perhaps much better than any other batsmen I have seen but it (batting position) all depends.''

The Aussie camp was also tight-lipped about its line- up with Steve Waugh busy practising and Buchanan keen to get to the ground.

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