ODI 2 - Ind Won - Let Ganguly struggle in peace

So, Ganguly looked good finally, and middled almost each shot for around 4 overs (didnt get much runs though, except for a trademark charged loft over mid-off). Since now it seems that team is doing well, I would hope he is allowed to struggle the way out of so called slump in peace ! There is no point even arguing with so many people driven by media hype about his bad form.

Anyway, the match was again interesting, though for non-cricketing reasons again:- Ganguly was arguing with Youhana in hindi...when Youhana was taking too many breaks and Ganguly complained to umpire...Youhana might have said ki "mai jaanboojh kar nahi kar raha hoon" and Ganguly explained ki "mai isliye umpire ko bola jisse woh mujhe fine na kare, mai ye nahi bola ki tum jaanboojh ke kar rahe ho" !!...and he said this with Bowden standing right next to them..but cudnt understand :-))...this would be the first time I've see two teams making use of language to bypass umpire :-)

And Ganguly seems to be extra-inspired as a captain in this ODI series, maybe Bangalore still hurting :-) Here are some good examples (a) Playing Nehra over Pathan who gives more all-round value. Nehra is proving so useful despite flat tracks ! Although Pathan may yet get a chance in next match (Balaji injured ?) (b) Using Sachin well enough for defensive-attack (realising its not Sehwag style of bowling pitch) (c) Using yuvraj in same mould today, and to even greater effect ! (d) Not only sending Dhoni ahead, but being very frank about the reason- that he himself would have taken time to get set, and Dhoni was therefore better utilising first 15 overs. I hope someone remembers (Ravi Shastri) that Gang has so often been criticised for using pinch hitters amidst a starry lineup. (d) Effecting such timely bowling changes in 2nd match, it was close right till the end !

So, atleast I dont care if his loss of form is not hurting the team !

Update : And as I said earlier above, it does seem that Ganguly is progressing more as a captain due to the lean patch. Another example The Indian skipper said the fact that Harbhajan Singh did not bowl well in the last two matches does not make him concerned. "He is a matchwinner. Such lean days happen in everybody's life."