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NEW DELHI, Aug 6: India's cannot be dubbed as one-day chokers despite losing 13 of their last 14 tournament finals, captain Saurav Ganguly has said.
India stumbled to a 25-run defeat in the Asia Cup final on Sunday when hosts Sri Lanka restricted them to 203-9 on a slow turner, leading to renewed criticism that the team were incapable of handling pressure.
"It's not fair to call us chokers," Ganguly said on Friday. "Yes, we've not played that well in finals and we need to improve. But a choker is someone who cracks under pressure and we've not always done that.
"People should realise there is as much pressure in a World Cup semi-final as there is in the final. In Pakistan earlier this year, we were 2-1 down but won the last two matches to clinch the series. Those were pressure matches," he said.
India won their last final against England at Lord's in 2002 when they chased a mammoth 326 for victory. It was their first final victory since beating Zimbabwe at Sharjah in 1998. But on the flip side, India have made the final in every tournament, involving three or more teams, they have played since the ICC Champions Trophy in Nairobi in 2000. "The way we've played in one-day cricket over the last few years, we deserve to win a few finals," Ganguly said. "We definitely need to remedy that record."
India next play a tri-series involving Pakistan and Australia in the Netherlands later this month. They then play three one-dayers against England and the 12-team Champions Trophy in September.
ZAHEER'S FUTURE
Injury-prone seamer Zaheer Khan was dropped from the one-day cricket squad keeping in mind "future" of the bowler as well India's Test series at home against Australia and South Africa later this year, according to skipper Sourav Ganguly.
Zaheer Khan was replaced by Ajit Agarkar in the squad for Holland tri-series, NatWest Challenge and ICC Champions Trophy. Ganguly, said Zaheer was "not bowling well" and needed some time to get back his rhythm.
"When he is fit, he is best bowler in the side. We are looking at coming series at home against Australia and South Africa. We hope he gets back to his rhythm. He never looked very free in Asia Cup.
We are looking at his future and that is reason why he was not picked," he said. But Ganguly denied left-arm pacer was played in Asia Cup despite being not fully fit. -Agencies
