India's series-equalling win against Sri Lanka notwithstanding, former captain Kapil Dev is just not happy with the brittle middle-order that continues to fire blank.
NEW DELHI: India's series-equalling win against Sri Lanka notwithstanding, former captain Kapil Dev is just not happy with the brittle middle-order that continues to fire blank.
The 1983 World Cup winning captain said although the 170-run win enabled India level the three-match series 1-1, he felt 'disappointed' by the much-vaunted middle order.
"We expected a much better performance from the middle order," the former all-rounder lamented.
The star-studded middle order, which comprises the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, has cut a sorry figure so far in the series with only Laxman managing a half-century in the series.
Tendulkar has scored 27 and 12 in the first Test in Colombo and contributed 5 and 31 in the second Test. Rahul Dravid scored 14 and 10 in the Colombo Test and 2 and 44 here in Galle.
VVS Laxman looked good when he scored 56 in the first innings of the first Test but he could manage only 21 in the second essay. At Galle, Laxman's contribution was 39 and 13.
Worst is the case with Ganguly who looks woefully out of form. He scored a duck in the first innings in Colombo and 16 in the second essay. At Galle, Ganguly scored 23 and 4.
However skipper Anil Kumble is not worried.
"Everybody got a start. Sachin was batting brilliantly, Rahul also got a bit of a start. Sourav obviously spent some time in SSC but didn't get quite the opportunity here. But otherwise Laxman has shown that he has been in the runs.
"So not really a worry but you know the way we played overall was fantastic to come back. We always knew that it was not going to be easy against Sri Lanka. But we did really well in these conditions," he said.
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