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Sehwag applauds team for 'good show'
November 09, 2005 18:35 IST
India have been thriving in the series against Sri Lanka [Images] because different players have taken up responsibility and responded to situations positively, stand-in captain Virender Sehwag [Images] said after the team registered another huge victory in the sixth one-day international in Rajkot on Wednesday.
"We have been experimenting with the batting order as we have a good batting line-up. Different players have been taking up responsibility," Sehwag said, when asked to comment on India's good show in the seven-match series.
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On Wednesday's victory, Sehwag said the comprehensive win was made possible by the fact that the Indians had outperformed Sri Lanka in all the three vital departments of the game.
"We did well in all the three departments -- batting, bowling and fielding. In the end, it was a good show from my boys," the Delhi [Images] batsman said.
Praising his bowlers, he said, "It was a slow wicket. The ball was not coming on easily to the bat. Murali Kartik [Images] and Harbhajan Singh [Images] bowled superbly. R P Singh, Sreesanth [Images] and Irfan Pathan [Images] also bowled really well."
Rival skipper Marvan Atapattu said his team did not put enough runs on the board.
"190-odd runs were not enough. We lost quite a few wickets early on," he said, adding that a total of 240 would have been a competitive score.
The Sri Lankan captain said the wicket was dual-paced but "there are no excuses to have lost the match in such a manner."
Atapattu also said the team missed the services of champion bowler Muttiah Muralitharan [Images].
"It makes a big difference to have Murali. We missed him badly. The amount of turn the wicket was taking later on, his presence would have helped us greatly. But he is more important for us in the Tests and we want to preserve him for that."
Man of the match R P Singh said he just concentrated on "bowling a good line".
"The wicket had uneven bounce. I tried to bowl at the stumps and keep a good line," said the paceman, who returned figures of 4 for 35.
He also praised the seniors for their all-round support.
"Although this was only my third match, I have been around with the team for quite some time. The seniors have really helped me a lot with their support."