Ganguly attributes victory
to team effort

Triumphant India skipper Sourav Ganguly attributed the historic victory in the third Test against England to a combined effort from his boys as rival England skipper Nasser Hussain conceded his team was outplayed in every department of the game.

"It was a very good team effort; all of us played really well," an exultant Ganguly said after India defeated England by an innings and 46 runs to record their first Test victory in England in 16 years.

Acknowledging the enormous support from the crowd, he said, "I hope we have not disappointed them and hope we do not disappoint them at The Oval."

With the series tied at 1-1, India and England lock horns in the fourth and final Test, at the Oval, from September 5.

Hussain tried to put up a brave front saying, "The defeat is not the end. But all credit to the Indians. They handled the conditions better than we did."

Ganguly admitted it was a tough decision to bat first but said the team did well to overcome all odds.

"It was a big decision to bat first... but I had the confidence of having the best batsmen in the world [in our ranks]. And the first day set the game for us. The moment we touched 630-odd runs we knew we were in with a chance," said Ganguly, who contributed his bit by scoring an attractive 128.

Ganguly, who had come down heavily on his bowlers after India struggled to draw in the previous Test at Trent Bridge, profusely praised them for their collective effort.

"We got them [England] out early in the first innings and we bowled well in the second innings too. Anil Kumble is a great bowler;- there is just one word which can describe him - 'great'.

"Kumble bowled well along with Harbhajan. Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan also bowled well in tandem. Zaheer bowled splendidly. In fact, he looked like taking a wicket with every ball," he said.

And Hussain had just the opposite to say about his bowlers.

"Everyone's writing on our bowling. We bowled a wrong length. We dropped catches... but it is not the end of the world. We have the final Test coming up. We have played some good cricket in recent times," he said.

Man-of-the-match Rahul Dravid also sought to down play suggestions that India go into the decider as favourites.

"I do not think India start as favourites. England have played very good cricket. Just because they have had one bad Test we cannot take them for granted," said the Indian vice-captain, who showed grit in making a solid 148.

Dravid set the stage for India's victory by some resolute batting and he admitted the task had not been easy.

"It was hard work. We knew lot was going to happen in the first two sessions and the importance of keeping wickets."

He said coach John Wright, who also drew special praise from Ganguly, had told him at lunch on the first day that if he could score a century in the Test it would be most satisfying.

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