Smith promises Ganguly a hot reception Friday, December 01, 2006 09:47 [IST]
Johannesburg, Sourav Ganguly will have a hot reception on arrival in South Africa as the home captain Graeme Smith has promised an attack on the former's rib cage by his bowlers in the forthcoming Test series.
"He has got a lot of runs here and we have a huge respect for him. But it's not a worry and we would be ready for him," remarked Smith ahead of the Twenty20 game here today.
Ganguly has been recalled into the Test squad after being ignored for the last 10 months.
The 33-year old former captain went out of favour ever since he had a public spat with coach Greg Chappell on the tour of Zimbabwe last year.
Smith recalled the turmoil he was witness to in India when the Chappell-Ganguly spat was at its peak and effigies of the former Australian captain were burnt on the streets of Kolkata.
"It will be interesting how he fits into the team but obviously they have fallen back on experience by selecting Laxman and Ganguly. We were expecting so all along," remarked Smith.
Smith also promised that the Indians wouldn't have it easy in the last one-day international even though his side has taken a winning 3-0 lead.
"We have done well despite having a poor start in all of our matches. We never really had a good foundation. Imagine what we could have managed if our foundation was solid. We intend to set it right in the last game." The final one-day match will be played in Centurion, Pretoria, on Sunday. |