Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly on Tuesday hailed the team for inflicting another 4-0 humiliation on England on home soil.

The Virat Kohli-led side won by an innings and 75 runs to seal yet another dominating show in Chennai riding on Karun Nair and Lokesh Rahul’s batting display and Ravindra Jadeja’s 10-wicket match-haul.

“It was a fantastic display by the Indian team,” Ganguly told reporters.

“I hope they carry forward the momentum. In the sub-continent if you have to beat them, you need quality spinners and clearly Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali were not good enough,” said Ganguly.

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Having made a sedate start to the day, England made a hash of their batting after tea losing the last six wickets for a mere 15 runs.

Speaking on the collapse of the visitors, Ganguly said: “I think that’s where Virat Kohli as a captain comes in. I am sure he would have said to the boys that the match is not over yet.

“This is one of the good things we have seen in the series. These were pitches which did not have turn and we lost four tosses but still managed to win four back-to-back Test matches which is remarkable.”

Asked about the happy conundrum the team has at the moment with the likes of stand-in wicketkeeper batsman Parthiv Patel and rookie Karun Nair performing excellently, Ganguly said the problem will be solved when they start playing abroad.

“The batting has a lot of bench-strength available. There were guys who stood up and performed. Karun Nair was remarkable in this Test match. So it’s a good problem to have. This problem will be solved in the next 12 months when India go around the world and play in conditions where there is pace and bounce,” he said.

“There are five more Test matches to come in India and they will win all five. Then they start on the road and then we will find out who stands up against good quality pace attack.”

Ravindra Jadeja, according to Ganguly, is one of the best bowlers in the sub-continent.

“He (Jadeja) is lethal on slow turning pitches in the sub-continent. I think he is one of the best.

Asked to compare between Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja to Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh, Ganguly, who was captain when the latter duo were in full tilt, said, “I don’t think it’s fair to compare them. Those were different eras of cricket.”

India won their ninth match of the year to stretch an unbeaten run to 18.

The hosts wrote and rewrote a plethora of records, including notching up their biggest-ever series victory over England.

IANS

A galaxy of VVIPs, including none other than Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, his actor son Abhishek Bacchan and rival finalists team co-owners, cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, stole the show ahead of the Indian Super League (ISL) final.

All these celebrities arrived at different times, early in the day at the Kochi international airport and were received at the airport by a huge number of fans who were seen cheering each of them.

While Tendulkar, who co-owns the Kerala Blasters team, did not react to the questions posed by the media, his former captain Ganguly, who co-owns the Kolkatta team, said that, in the league stage, his team had beaten Kerala Blaster.

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ISL’s promoter Football Sports Development Limited’s founder and chairperson Nita Ambani, who arrived early in the day said she was excited at seeing the huge Kochi crowd and said may the best team win.

Bollywood megastar Amitabh hoped the boisterous Kerala crowd which was a sellout for the final between Kerala Blasters and Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) sets the template for everyone across the country.

“I have not seen such a big crowd,” Bachchan said during half-time. “The kind of enthusiasm I see here in Kerala is amazing. I really want to thank Nita (Ambani) ji for bringing it to such a large level.

“I hope this continues and may this crowd be an example for the rest of India,” Big B, whose son Abhishek is the co-owner of defending champions Chenaiyin FC, added.

The senior Bachchan has been to ISL venues supporting Chennaiyin with his son and daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

“With Tendulkar and his Mumbai team flying down the big names in the Bollywood industry, the Mollywood (Malayalam film industry) stars might not be that enthusiastic,” said an ISL official when asked why the Malayalam stars are not present in good numbers.

But upcoming Malayalam star Nivin Pauly arrived at the Kochi Blaster’s hotel here to wish the team the best — as did former Union Minister of Civil Aviation Praful Patel.

–IANS

Former skipper Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday cautioned England from getting whitewashed in the upcoming five-match Test series, starting November 9 at Rajkot, when they face an in-form Indian side.

The legendary southpaw expects India to continue their superb form at home which they displayed during their 3-0 clean sweep of New Zealand in the recently-concluded Test Series.

“India are playing superb cricket. I am expecting another whitewash like the one against New Zealand. They (England) should be worried,” Ganguly told reporters here.

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Ganguly’s comments echoed former England captain Michael Vaughan, who on Tuesday had said England are bereft of top-class spin bowlers and their batsmen have struggled to combat the turning ball against Bangladesh.

Vaughan said England need to ‘park the bus’ in order to stave off the threat from the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Meanwhile, hot on the heels of Bengal’s back-to-back outright victories in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Ganguly welcomed the boys home with a high tea session here.

It was announced that 21-year old pacer Amit Kuila, who has impressed with his performances so far in the Ranji Trophy will be sponsored by the CAB for his future endeavours.

IANS