“I admired how desperate they were to win. That’s why they have won so many Test matches,” Ganguly told Star Cricket during the practice game against the Australian Capital Territory Invitational XI at the Manuka Oval here.
“They sense a chance of a win and would do anything to get it,” he said.
Ganguly found a lot to admire in the way Ricky Ponting’s men played the game. “When they came out on to the field for the World Cup final, they looked different. They play their cricket in a different way than the rest of the teams.”
However, Ganguly said it was “not impossible” for the younger Indian players to develop that attitude.
Harbhajan Singh has been in the eye of the storm in the aftermath of the second Test with allegations of racial abuse, but his former skipper, who was not on the field when the altercation took place, doubted that the off-spinner made such a comment. “I doubt he (Harbhajan) said that. But there is a lot of pressure in the middle during a Test match and things can come out,” Ganguly said.
He was not surprised that it became a big issue once it was reported and stressed that personal abuse had no place in the game.
Australians were accused of not playing in the spirit of the game in Sydney, but Ganguly admitted he did not know what the term meant. “I don’t know what ‘spirit of the game’ actually means. Unless you don’t make a fool of yourself on the field and don’t cross the line, you should be OK,” he quipped.
Ganguly’s contentious dismissal on the final day of the second Test was perhaps the most controversial incident of the game. “I edged it and immediately looked behind to see it fall short. But the umpire asked the fielder who said it was a clean catch.
“We had an agreement before the series to take the fielder’s word. But the umpire should have used his judgement also and asked (square-leg umpire) Steve Bucknor or the third umpire,” he said.


RACISM ROW
Pawar talks tough
Melbourne, pti: BCCI chief Sharad Pawar has said the threat of India pulling out of the cricket tour of Australia was real if the ban on spinner Harbhajan Singh was not lifted.
“Let’s see what happens, but allegations of racism against a member of our cricket team are not acceptable. After the meeting, we then will take action,” he was quoted as saying in ‘The Hearld Sun’.
Meanwhile, the ICC on Friday declined to make any comments on Pawar’s threat. “We have no comments. All we can say is that there is a process and it will take its natural course,” an ICC spokesman told PTI from Dubai.