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| Sunday, 18 April 2004 |
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Series win in Pakistan one of India's greatest - Ganguly RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, April 17 (Reuters) Victorious captain Saurav Ganguly said India's maiden test series victory in Pakistan was one of the best in their cricketing history. Ganguly also became India's most successful test captain in the process, registering his 15th win on Friday to surpass Mohammad Azharuddin. "Pakistan and India cricket series always mean a lot to the players," he told reporters. "This is bigger than the Ashes," he added referring to the full-blooded contests between England and Australia. "Winning it for the first time in history is a huge boost to our confidence." The visitors won the deciding third test by an innings and 131 runs. "It was a competitive series and the charm of beating Pakistan in Pakistan is huge. But it shouldn't hamper good relations between the two countries. This is just a game and should be treated as one," Ganguly said. India were playing a first full series in Pakistan after 14 years due to political tensions between the south Asian neighbours. Ganguly said his team had thoroughly enjoyed the Pakistani hospitality on the tour. "It's been a fantastic tour for us. The hospitality and security have been excellent. I would say Pakistan is a secure country." Australia and West Indies had refused to play in Pakistan, following the September 11 attacks in the United States, because of the war in nearby Afghanistan. The series win was India's first overseas since beating Sri Lanka 10 years ago. But Ganguly said the march towards this victory had started in West Indies two years ago, when they lost 2-1 after taking an early lead in the series. "In the past two years we've learnt a lot from our experiences abroad. We hadn't won despite being in a position of strength, but we built a very good team with a strong batting line-up. That's the key to our success now." The Indian skipper appealed to Pakistani fans and officials not to criticise the home team after one bad performance. "You have to give this Pakistan team some time to settle down. Don't criticise and find faults with them on the basis of one series result," he said. "They've got some young players in the side. They've lost stars like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar just recently. They need some time.". |
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