Ganguly: I was confident we would come back

It was clear that Sourav Ganguly was ecstatic after winning the third and final Test of the Pepsi series at Chennai. With the Gavaskar- Border Trophy in the bag, Ganguly was breathless and excited. "It's an amazing win for us. There were a few moments of tension but I had the confidence in the team," said Ganguly, happy to talk to the press on the occasion.

Even his personal form was not a cause for concern. Known to be a man who likes to keep his average up as high as possible, a man for records, Ganguly brushed aside all questions about his form. "I am not concerned about my batting as long as the team wins," the Indian captain said. That is a perfectly logical thing to say when the team has just won a big match. If the result had been different though, such an answer would be unacceptable. Having taken some stick in the media recently, Sourav Ganguly was undeterred.

After the resounding victory at Mumbai most people wrote off the Indians. The press and public alike did not expect the Indians to strike back in such a positive fashion. The captain however insists that he never gave up hope. "Even after the defeat in the first Test, I was confident we will come back," he said. However, the Indian captain was also quick to concede that the Indian comeback was no run of the mill occurrence. "Not many teams have come back after losing the first game, so there is even more reason to be proud of the boys."

Speaking of the boys, he said none of this would have been possible but for two cricketers VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh. Without the dominant batting of Laxman and the penetrative bowling of the wiry Sardar, India would not have had the heart to come back so strongly. Ganguly did not mince words while patting the youngsters on their backs. "They showed a lot of character in fighting back. It may not be right to single out individuals in a team sport (but) Harbhajan and Laxman were really outstanding. The two of them really rose to the occasion," concluded Ganguly.