December 02, 2007	Sunday	Ziqa’ad 21, 1428

KOLKATA, Dec 1: Shoaib Akhtar found an unexpected supporter in the rival camp on Saturday when former Indian captain Saurav Ganguly lauded the Pakistan fast bowler’s commitment for his country.

Talking to reporters after the second day’s play in the second Test here, Ganguly retorted back at Shoaib’s critics by saying: “I am surprised at the meaningless and unfair criticism on Shoaib.

“Shoaib showed his commitment by opting to play for the sake of his team and country. He could have easily refused to play but he didn’t. He bowled very well today (Saturday) and was the easily the pick of Pakistan’s bowlers. And although he didn’t get any wicket yet he was very impressive,” said Ganguly, whose 102 was his first century in front of his home fans.

Ganguly was both relieved and delighted at reaching the three-figure after 11 years of trying. “Yeah, it’s always a nice and happy feeling to get a hundred in your hometown. I’m still enjoying the moments and would cherish it as long as I live,” he added with a smile.

“It (the century) feels a bit different because I have played all my life at the Eden Gardens. And to have ended [my career] without a Test hundred here would have been very disappointing.”

Ganguly said the pitch was still playing well, but it might assist the bowlers late on Sunday. “The conditions on the first two days were the best for batting. I must say it was a good toss to win. The surface will be good for batting tomorrow as well. But probably after tea and on the subsequent days it will turn a lot more than it did,” he expressed.

Meanwhile, Geoff Lawson, the Pakistan coach, admitted the unresponsive nature of the Eden Gardens pitch, made life very hard for his bowlers.

“It was very, very tough bowling out there. The conditions definitely favoured the batters. But to their credit, our bowlers stuck to the task admirably,” the ex-Australian Test paceman observed.

Lawson singled out Danish Kaneria for special praise despite the leg-spinner’s disappointing return of two for 194 as the Indians declared at 616-5 in their first innings. “I thought Danish was absolutely superb as he toiled through 50 overs. He was pretty unlucky not to pick up more wickets,” he said.