Kolkata, Apr 1 (UNI) Former Indian Skipper Sourav Ganguly today said the home team could go one up in Ahmedabad if the pitch responds to spin unlike Chennai where the wicket was absolutely flat.
Before leaving for second test in Ahmedabad that commences on April 3, Ganguly refused to admit that the touring South African side had the best batting line-up among those that toured the country. He said, ''I dont think so. There were other sides that were equally good. Actually the pitch at the Chepauk was too flat and dead. The bowlers had no purchase from it.'' ''If the Ahmedabad track helps the spinners a bit, we could well go one up there,'' he added.
Asked to comment on Virender Sehwag's tripple-ton, Sourav was all praise, ''I was with him in Multan and that day at Chennai. It is awesome to see him play like that. For a man to score two tripple tons speaks volumes about his ability. He is undoubtedly one of the most talented batsmen that India had.'' On Shah Rukh Khan's comments that he might get back to doing films if his Kolkata Knight Riders team did not click in the first year of Indian Premier League (IPL), he said, ''That is entirely his personal decision. And it is not the industry's money that he is ploughing into the team. It is his hard earned money and if he does not make any profit out of it he has every right to take whatever decisions he wants to.'' Does he think his team the Knight Riders would be able to take the top honours, he said, ''All the teams are good. They would all fight tooth and nail to win the competition. We have a good team on paper at least. It looks well balanced. So lets hope for the best.'' ''We will have a camp in Kolkata. Mr John Buchanan is coming. We will have a fine tuning session. We are hopeful of doing well,'' he added.
Asked if the overdose of ODIs and Twenty20 was killing Test cricket, he said, ''Test cricket will always be the ultimate goal for any cricketer. Every youngstar will always dream of playing Test cricket for India. It has a special place and it will never change.'' UNI BA ADG RAR VC2129