Team has to give their best to win, says Ganguly

Skipper Sourav Ganguly said India would have to be on the top of their game to beat the host on Sunday.

Admitting that the team had so far not given off their best, Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly has said that his side will have to play "very, very well" if they are to get the Asia Cup home.

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Ganguly is naturally keen to see India winning their fifth Asia Cup title when they meet twice-winners Sri Lanka in the day-night final at R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

But the elegant left-hander is not taking the Sri Lankans, especially their in-form batsman Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan, lightly and said that the Indians would have to be "on the top of their game" to beat the hosts in front of vocal home supporters.

He also emphasized that he is currently at the peak of his batting prowess and feels a good stable personal life helps a player to do better at his game.

Rated as one of India's most successful captains, Ganguly said he was thinking and playing better than ever before, though there was room for improvement.

He also feels that marriage often helps in improving a player's game and it was important to have a "good stable life to play the game properly".

In an exclusive interview with IANS, Ganguly spoke on India's prospects in the Asia Cup final.

Excerpts:

Q: Are you happy with the team's performance in the Asia Cup?

A: We have not played to the best (of our ability); we have not played the way we normally play. But, at least, we are in the finals, so we have got an opportunity to win the competition.

Q: Is it a blessing in disguise to lose a couple of early matches rather than late in a tournament?

A: Well, we will find out. It's good that we won the important game of the tournament (against Sri Lanka on Tuesday) to get into the final. Whether it is a blessing in disguise or not, we will find out in due course. But I think it's not the right time for me to say.

Q: Do you feel that when a team confronts a do-or-die situation, it helps in maturing of players?

A: It does. We have been in such a situation many a time in the past and we have gone through it, which is a good sign for the team. (But) we should be playing better.

Q: As captain, do you make extra effort to motivate yourself as well as your players for a relatively smaller tournament like the Asia Cup?

A: I don't think Asia Cup is a small tournament. For us, it's a big tournament. That's my job -- to motivate them and keep them going.

Q: How do you look at the Asia Cup final?

A: They (Sri Lanka) are a good side at home. We will have to play very, very well. We have played well against them here, beaten them here, but we will have to be at the top of our game.

Q: Do you think the character of the pitch at R Premadasa Stadium will be a factor, have a bearing?

A: It will have a bearing, but not that much. It gets slower, but it depends on how many runs we hold the opposition for in the first innings. I think 260-270 can be chased.

Q: Who would be one Sri Lankan player that you would watch out for?

A: Sanath Jayasuriya.

Q: How much have the players toughened since you took over as captain in November 2000, when the nucleus of the team had not settled completely?

A: Well, it is difficult for me to say how much they have toughened. But they have definitely become a better side and it shows in the results. The attitude has changed immensely. They fight hard on the cricket field, which is what we look for - there is no question, no doubt about it.

Q: Would you consider yourself lucky in the sense that you have the services of players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and others?

A: That's how it should be - a team. You can become a good team only if you have quite a few good players. And we have quite a few good players in the team. Not just Sachin, Rahul, Sehwag (but) Yuvraj (Singh) is good, (Mohammed) Kaif is good, (Anil) Kumble, (Irfan) Pathan, Zaheer (Khan), Harbhajan (Singh), they all are quality cricketers. So, I think it's a good bunch of boys.

Q: Do you believe that luck has also sided with you and you got the nucleus together and backed young players?

A: What's that got to do with luck? Obviously, luck is important, but you cannot sit at home ... sit in the room ... and worry about luck. You have to make sure things happen on the cricket field also.

Q: How much luck a captain needs and how much tactics and strategy?

A: You need a bit of luck, but you need to have tactics, strategy and the ability. You just don't win on (the basis of) luck.

Q: Does leading a side affect a captain's batting?

A: It depends from player to player. It's not fair to judge and analyse on the basis of one player. It varies from player to player. For some it doesn't affect; for some it affects.

Q: What has it been in your case?

A: Well, it has been in phases. When I started off as captain I struggled for four-five months, but then I started to differentiate both, and from then it's been okay.

Q: How much have you come along as a batsman since your Test debut in 1996 at Lord's?

A: Well, the runs and the records will speak for it; I don't need to say how much I have come along. It's my record over the eight-nine years that will prove... because statistics can't be wrong.

Q: There are times when statistics do not reveal everything.

A: It does reveal a lot of things. You cannot be useless and score a whole lot of runs; you've got to be good to do it. And you cannot be superb and not score any runs. So statistics cannot reveal anything other than what the actual fact is.

Q: Would you say at 32 you are batting at your best at the international level? Are you at the peak of your career?

A: Yeah. I think better. And I am playing well. One can always improve, but it's a fact that I think (it's) better when I am playing, which is a big improvement.

Q: Do you think cricketers mature with age as well as marriage?

A: Well, I don't know. I think it varies from people to people. Obviously, marriage helps and age also helps. It depends from individual to individual, so it's difficult for me to say. But I'm pretty much sure it does help.

Even before marriage also some individuals are well settled, when you have a girlfriend ... Rahul Dravid played before marriage and played well after marriage. When I started my career I was not married. I played well before marriage and played well after marriage. Obviously, it's important to have a good stable life to play the game properly.

Q: Does marriage help a captain take on-field decisions because of the responsibility factor?

A: Well, I don't know it's a difficult question for me to answer. I had notbeen captain before marriage, so I won't be able to differentiate.

Q: After the 2003 World Cup you said that the team has found the nucleus that would remain good till the 2007 World Cup. You must be having solid reasons for thinking so.

A: Yeah, because of the quality of the players. Obviously, they will have to keep on performing. But the quality of players make me feel that if everything goes well they will carry on till 2007.

Q: What are the reasons that give you so much confidence in the players, some of whom you have backed thoroughly?

A: It's the ability of the players, and the performance they have shown so far - because I have always believed that class is permanent, form may be temporary. Class is always permanent.

Q: In the next World Cup there will more teams, a different format - Super Eights - different venues, different pitches. Will it be a bigger challenge than 2003?

A: I have not though about 2007 World Cup. It's only 2004 and three years down the line is a lot of time, so it's too far ahead to think. Lot of things happen in three years.

Q: What do you think about the volume of international cricket?

A: You do play a lot of cricket. That's there, but that's the way it is. The world is changing; the game is changing.

Q: Some Test captains have told the International Cricket Council (ICC) that too much cricket was being played.

A: Well, I don't get to meet the ICC (officials), so it's difficult for me to pass my statement to the ICC. The last time we had a captains' meeting was in year 2000. I have not had any meeting since then, so it's difficult to make my ideas known to the ICC.

Q: What would be the ideal number of matches that a team should play in a year?

A: It's difficult for me to say. It cannot be perfect. It could be this way,that way. We just need to go ahead and play, and stop worrying about all these things. The itinerary is fixed, it cannot be changed, so we might as well go ahead and play.

Q: But you can approach your board.

A: They (the ICC) have a 10-year itinerary done, so it'll be difficult at this stage. If it is re-looked into, then we can probably think about it. But at the present moment we don't have any information.

Q: After nine years in international cricket, how would you sum up your career?

A: It's not the right stage to sum up my career. I want to play about five years more. I have done reasonably well, but there is always scope for improvement.

Q: Any ambitions in cricket?

A: Hope to keep on playing. Just want to enjoy the game and keep on performing, and hope India becomes a better team.