February 2, 2006	Thursday	Muharram 3, 1427

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

KARACHI, Feb 1: Indian captain Rahul Dravid on Wednesday gave Karachi the thumbs up for its excellent playing conditions and crowd behaviour after the conclusion of the third Test here at the National Stadium.

Speaking to reporters after his team lost to Pakistan by 341 runs in the decisive Test, Dravid said that Karachi was an excellent cricket venue and should host international matches regularly.

“It was a good Test match and the crowd behaviour was excellent. Obviously I would have been happier had we won here but overall the cricket here was great.”

There have been problems with Karachi hosting international cricket in recent years with many touring teams reluctant in coming and playing in Pakistan’s biggest city. It was after a lot of initial reluctance that Indian cricket officials agreed on a Test match in Karachi.

Dravid said that his team could have given a better show in the final Test had their top class batsmen performed better in the match.

He said that most of the Indian batsmen who can play long innings lost their wickets cheaply and that helped Pakistan win the match by a huge margin.

He added that India lost an early advantage when they allowed Pakistan to score 245 odd runs after having them reeling at 39 for 6 at one stage on the opening day.

He pointed out that the match-winning innings of wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal swung the match in Pakistan’s favour.—Agencies