'Freak knocks do not happen everyday,' says Ganguly

Mohali, March 10: Having posted an imposing total, Indians were quite confident that a "freak knock" would not be able to take the second one-day international against Zimbabwe away from them.

"Chasing 320 is not an easy job. In Faridabad we lost to a freak knock. It doesn't happen everyday," skipper Sourav Ganguly, declared man-of-the-match for his 86-run knock off 83 balls, said after India registered a comprehensive 64-run victory on Sunday to level the five match series 1-1.

Asked if the 134-run second wicket partnership between Travis Friend and Alistair Campbell had raised India's worst fears, Ganguly replied in the negative and said, "We just needed to keep our heads up and keep fighting. We got a couple of wickets and the pressure was on the Zimbabweans."

Ganguly was all praise for Dinesh Mongia who came up with a fine all-round performance on Sunday, chipping in with three crucial wickets including that of Faridabad hero Douglas Marillier after playing a solid knock of 45. "We knew he could bowl and his left-arm spin clicked."

Asked what would happen to players Mongia and Mohd Kaif once Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag return to the side, Ganguly said, "Somebody has to miss out. But Mongia is a very fine player. He is cool customer and is definitely a very bright prospect.

Coach John Wright also said the present series was a good opportunity for both Mongia and Kaif to gain in confidence. "Both of them are fine players. They are also very good fielders. Kaif sacrificed his wicket today going for runs but Mongia played really well. It is good when you see players like them coming and contributing."

Wright said Mongia's bowling could be worked on in the future.

On his personal achievement, that of becoming the second highest scorer as India's captain, Ganguly said, "Its good to get to a milestone but every time you go out to play there you aim for a win. Winning is the most important thing."

Zimbabwe captain Stuart Carlisle said his team tried its best till the very end. "But chasing a 300-plus target is a big task."

He refused to identify the turning point in the match but said a number of extras conceded by his bowlers proved crucial.

Carlisle said he would have loved to bat first in Sunday's match. "It was a very good pitch. We had a good start but we lost wickets at the wrong times. Our partnerships did not get going when they were needed the most."