|
I would be the first to admit that losing two games in three days has been pretty disappointing for all of us.
On Sunday, we encountered a charged, aggressive Indian outfit that batted and bowled better than us. As a result, we squandered the advantage of batting first and set a target that was 30 runs lighter than what we would have liked.
I have been quite impressed with the bowling potential of the young Indian side and Praveen Kumar is another youngster who has done well on this tour. He is not very quick, but has guile and is enjoying the conditions here.
However, the standout performance in the game was that of Sachin Tendulkar. He did not have a century in Australia, but on Sunday he showed that he still has the hunger to do well and to guide this young, enthusiastic team to success.
Vulnerable to new ball
Tendulkar has been vulnerable to the new ball right through this tri-series, particularly against Brett Lee. However, once he got past Lee's initial spell, he was in command and as long as he was present, it was clear we did not have enough runs on the board.
Rohit Sharma also looked very composed and assured and he has caught the imagination of quite a few experts over the last few weeks. On Sunday, too, he was the last of the batsmen, ahead of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. However, he refused to let the pressure get to him.
Looking ahead, I am still pretty confident that we have the ability to turn things around today. We just have to ensure that we do the basics correctly and play according to our plan.
The Indians will be anxious about the injury to Ishant Sharma. He has been a crucial member of this young side.
It's disappointing to lose my last games at both the MCG and the SCG.
However, more than my own farewell, it would be unfortunate if we didn't win this series because it would mean that we have lost the last two tri-series finals.
It's important that we do not let such negative thoughts hit us. I am not thinking in terms of my own career situation and would rather focus on what we have to do as a team.
|
