Coming back will be difficult: Ganguly

Ruing missed chances in the match India lost by 67 runs to New Zealand, Sourav Ganguly said it would be a difficult task to win the three remaining outings to stay in the reckoning for the final of the triseries.

"We played very poorly," the skipper said, summing up India's performance in the series so far.

"We have not been able to reach the 200 mark and that reflects poorly on the team," he said.

The rain-truncated match on Thursday saw India capitulating against a fine all-round display by the Kiwis.

"We did not bowl well in the first 15 overs and conceded too many runs, though we made up later. But the batsmen did not apply themselves at all.

"There were soft dismissals... At 60 for two, we lost a couple of wickets and again at 100 for four we lost three quick wickets," a disappointed Ganguly said.

He admitted that after losing three league matches in a row it would be a difficult task to win the last three.

"It will be difficult task... we will have to play better cricket. A mere 130 runs won't win us matches," he said.

Winning skipper Craig McMillan said fielding played a crucial part in shaping New Zealand's victory.

"The fielding was outstanding and it helped put pressure on the batsmen. Those three run-outs certainly helped. In fact, the three run-outs made the difference between winning and losing the game in the end," he said.

"We did not dwell on yesterday's [Wednesday's] loss and played positively. We got off to a good start though we lost too many wickets in the middle," the stand-in skipper said.

Mail Cricket Editor