Ganguly
target of Aussie sledging
PTI Sydney, February 8 - It was not all camaraderie in the last
match of the cricket series with Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly being
sledged by Aussie speedster Brad Williams during the tri-series
final here on Sunday. Williams started to abuse Ganguly from the
moment he came out to bat.
And
it was hard enough for the Indian captain to draw the attention
of his counterpart Ricky Ponting before he took guard in the middle.
"From the time I walked out of Sydney gates till I reached
the middle, it kept going. (I spoke to Ponting) because I didn't
want it to start.
all
over again... I didn't want to blow it out of proportion. "But
it was not as if only India were at the receiving end as their young
paceman Irfan Pathan was all fire himself, consistently having a
go at Matthew Hayden and clapping in the face of Damien Martyn after
he got.
him
out, forcing the batsman to complain to the umpire before he left
the ground. Though Hayden did not want to comment on the incident,
Ganguly was more forthcoming. "I keep telling my boys that
every time they get aggressive, my match fees get deducted. I keep
telling them to be careful because at this rate I might land up
with no money after this tour," he said in a lighter vein.
The bantering was on throughout the series and Indians found Adam
Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, two cricketers with the clean cut
image, quite a mouthful behind the stumps. Ganguly, apparently retorted
once to Gilchrist after one of his constant chatters "you're
not as innocent as you look". |