Wright hails team effort

Faisal Shariff in Madras

Indian cricket coach John Wright revealed the secret of his success, or rather the success of his team.

Speaking to the media, Wright said the secret was their development in picking the right players who are tough and have the stomach for a fight.

"We need to pick hard and talented players. We were down and out in this series early on. Laxman led the recovery with the help of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid," he said.

The coach recalled how, at the end of Day 2 in the Calcutta Test, things didn't look good for the Indians. "We spoke about a certain situation when India had played Pakistan at Lahore in 1978 and Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan [now manager of the team] had led the resurgence. The team wanted to fight."

Applauding off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, the hero of the series, Wright said, "Harbhajan's ability to discipline himself and achieve the right line was the secret of his success. He has learnt a lot about Test cricket in this series. In the absence of Anil Kumble, he has come out trumps. It is mouthwatering to think of the prospect when Anil comes back and we have both bowlers."

Ducking the politics of team selection, the former New Zealand opener and captain said, "Selection decisions are always difficult and unpopular. We needed one other spinner to support Harbhajan, that is why we kept changing the left-arm spinner through the series. We wanted a left-armer who could take wickets as well. We had to make brave selections and sometimes change is not a bad thing. It was also important to bowl maidens to the Aussies from one end so Harbhajan could attack from the other. It's a matter of trying to keep things tight."

In conclusion, the coach said it was a team effort that had led to the victory. "Don't single out individuals. S S Das's contribution with that outstanding catch, Ramesh's opening knocks, Tendulkar's contribution with the bat and ball are terrific. The catching in particular was excellent. It is a team game and team effort is an important ingredient."

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