Thaindian News

Sydney, Dec 30 (IANS) Former captain Sourav Ganguly is confident India will bounce back in the second Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) starting Tuesday.

India suffered a 122-run loss in the first Test that ended within four days at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Ganguly, who led India in the drawn Test series Down Under in 2003-04, blamed the Indian team for failing to deliver the knock-out punch against Australia at the MCG.

“The Indians will be disappointed with their performance. They were in good positions at various times, but weren’t able to give the knockout punch at the right moment. The Indians have some thinking to do, but I can guarantee a better show in Sydney. History suggests with India touring abroad that they play better from the second Test onwards. There is a lot of cricket left to be played in this series,” he said.

Ganguly, however, feels the emergence of fast bowlers is the positive from the game.

“They can take a lot of positives from this game, especially in the bowling department. Umesh Yadav was hugely impressive, and what will give a lot of hope to M.S. Dhoni is that Zaheer Khan has come out well. He played Test cricket after a long time out and looked in very good form. He will get better with every day as he is a class act,” Ganguly wrote in his column in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Ganguly said Australia deserves the praise for winning the match within four days.

“Not many expected this match to finish inside four days and the Australians deserve a lot of credit for the way they played,” he said.

“They were under a lot of pressure after the Hobart match against New Zealand and showed a lot of character in this game to come out win. People were expecting India to roll them, but they have always been a tough side to beat in their own backyard,” he said