Sourav Ganguly may have captained India to yet another authoritative win over Pakistan in the second one-dayer on Tuesday, but the lack of runs from his blade is deeply disturbing the left-hander, who said that he needed luck and good starts to overcome his lean streak.
"I need luck. I need good starts. I need to get into 20s and 30s," Ganguly said at the post match conference.
Ganguly said he was taking criticism of his poor form in his stride. "You are bound to be criticised if you are not among the runs in the last few innings."
However, he sought to look at the situation positively saying "these criticisms also make you realise that you are being criticised because you are a good performer".
Asked what he was doing to arrest the downslide in his performance, Ganguly said "I am trying everything... spending time at the nets. I know I will regain my form. And I am waiting for that to happen," the Indian skipper said.
Ganguly appeared happy when a newsperson informed him that he completed 5000 runs as Team India captain in the ODIs when he reached 4 during the day. "Is that so? I didn' know that," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Ganguly appeared happy when a newsperson informed him that he completed 5000 runs as Team India captain in the ODIs when he reached 4 during the day. "Is that so? I didn' know that," he said.
{{/usCountry}}After a brief pause, Ganguly continued "this may be a small thing. But at times like this things like this help you to relax".
While expressing happiness at the side going into a 2-0 lead in the six match one-day series, Ganguly, however, said that his team was taking one match at a time. "We are now looking at Jamshedpur. We need to win the series".
Asked about his decision to promote M S Dhoni to the number three spot, Ganguly said "when we saw the wicket in the morning, we were scared. We thought it will not last 50 overs. So, we wanted to win the game in the first 15 overs. Therefore, I decided to send Dhoni at number three."
On whether his move on Dhoni took Pakistan by surprise, Ganguly said "it is not the move, but the way he played that took Pakistan by surprise".
The Indian skipper said the fact that Harbhajan Singh did not bowl well in the last two matches does not make him concerned. "He is a matchwinner. Such lean days happen in everybody's life."