Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is unhappy with the Eden Gardens track which has been a batting paradise till the second day of the second cricket Test against India.
KOLKATA: Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson is unhappy with the Eden Gardens track which has been a batting paradise till the second day of the second cricket Test against India.
After India piled up 616 for 5 wickets in their first innings and took a huge advantage in the match on Saturday, Lawson said the pitch should help both batsmen and bowlers to make a contest interesting.
"You need a certain balance between the bat and the ball to make cricket more attractive," said Lawson.
"If I was the bowler here, I would have probably wanted to be down with a hamstring pull," he added in a lighter vein.
The lanky former Australian pacer also sought to downplay Sourav Ganguly's hundred, claiming that the left-hander was lucky to survive close calls in the early stages of his innings.
"Well, I think we got him when he was in single digits and then there were other numerous close calls. Hope we do have a bit of luck the next time we are playing," he said.
However, fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar got the thumbs up from Lawson.
"Shoaib bowled 25 overs and his commitment on the field was excellent. You can never say whether the decision to pick him was right. The decision was taken at the last minute and I always tend to back my decisions," Lawson said.
Akhtar had been down with a chest infection and spent more than a day in hospital before being discharged on the eve of the Test.
Asked about his injury-hit team, Lawson said, "Probably we only had five fit players at the start of the game. But we have to play. Test cricket is all about rising up to the challenge, no matter whether you are sick or injured. Staying in the field for five sessions is a extremely difficult task and I think my boys did that really well."
Praising the Pakistani bowlers, Lawson said, "Danish Kaneria bowled tirelessly and even Mohammed Sami was very accurate. I think my bowlers were touch unlucky at times."
However, he hoped that his side could still make a match of the ongoing match.
"I hope the batsmen will be up to the task tomorrow. We have quality batsmen in the side and if they get going, we can save the follow-on. And who knows where the game will go from there," Lawson said.
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