Nervous Ganguly steers Pune to win over Deccan

Sourav Ganguly was very nervous before clash against Deccan Chargers, reveals Pune coach Geoff Marsh

Debutant Sourav Ganguly remained unbeaten on 32 to steer Pune Warriors to a comfortable six-wicket victory against Deccan Chargers here at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium yesterday.


Pune Warriors' Sourav Ganguly plays a shot against DC.

Chasing 137, Pune Warriors won with 10 balls to spare, making it mathematically impossible for Deccan to qualify for the play-offs.

Coach Geoff Marsh revealed during the post-match media briefing that Ganguly told him he was "the most nervous he had ever been in his life before the game."

"It was a very big moment for him. I spent a lot of time with him over the last one week. I admire his passion, it's amazing, at this age he still wants to go out there and play," said Marsh.


A fan touches Dada's feet during the match yesterday. Pics/AFP

So why did Ganguly warm the bench for two games? "He (Ganguly) told me that he wasn't ready, and needed some more nets. Today, he felt ready, and thus we put him straight into action. It was great to see him bat, he still has it in him," added Marsh.

Earlier, Yuvraj Singh's left-arm spin turned the match on its head after Deccan raced to 50 in six overs after electing to bat on a true surface that had plenty of bounce and pace.

Yuvraj removed an in-form Shikhar Dhawan before returning to trap the dangerous Daniel Christian leg-before wicket, finishing with a tally of 2-17.
Mitchell Marsh picked up four crucial wickets as the hosts were restricted to 136-8.

Leg spinner Rahul Sharma, who is being considered for India's West Indies-bound ODI squad, once again conceded only six runs per over, continuing his great run in the tournament.

Later, Pune's openers ufffd Jesse Ryder and Manish Pandey ufffd kept Deccan's new-ball attack of Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma at bay, bringing up a fifty-run stand inside six overs.

There was some hiccup in their run chase when Christian removed Robin Uthappa and Yuvraj in quick succession, but Callum Ferguson struck three consecutive boundaries to allay any fears of a collapse.

Ferguson, along with Ganguly, took them past the line with ease. There was a touch of grace in Ganguly stepping down and hitting Dale Steyn through extra cover. Later, he stepped down to Amit Mishra and cleared deep square leg.