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Don't think Pakistan are India's yardstick at the moment: Ganguly

October 04, 2016 16:00 IST

'I still don't agree with the No.1 position because I don't think India have won in Australia or England or SA.'

A day after India dethroned arch-rivals Pakistan to become the No.1 Test team in the world, former captain Saurav Ganguly said that Kohli's team was far better than Misbah's men and he was surprised to see Pakistan taking the top spot.

"I don't think Pakistan are India's yardstick at the moment. India are a far better side than Pakistan in Test cricket.

"So I don't think it could be a comparison. I was surprised to see Pakistan becoming No.1 after their 2-2 series against England,” Ganguly told India Today.

"So I really didn't consider that to be No.1 but I think this win is lot more satisfying for India and lot more satisfying for viewers like us and for people who played cricket for such a long time,"  he said.

India hammered New Zealand by a mammoth 178 runs at the Eden Gardens in the second Test to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match Test series.

Ganguly however said that India's No.1 position will only be justified if they win a series in Australia or South Africa.

"I still don't agree with the No.1 position because I don't think India have won in Australia or England or South Africa or New Zealand. I didn't agree to Pakistan's No.1 position. In my era, Australia were the real No.1 Test side because they won everywhere," Dada said.

Kohli registered his ninth Test victory in only 16 Tests as captain, becoming India's fourth most successful captain in the longest format.

Heaping praise on Kohli, Ganguly said, "He sets high standards for himself and I think he'll set high standards for Indian cricket as well.

"The best thing that I liked about Kohli in this Test match that not once did he turn up to surface and say that I want this and I want that. He just played on what he was given and he reacted to it."

IMAGE: Former India captain Sourav Ganguly

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