Associated Press

Kanpur, April 14:

Indian skipper Rahul Dravid on Thursday called for discipline from his bowlers to rectify the slow overrate problem that led regular captain Sourav Ganguly receiving a six-match ban.

Taking charge of the team with the six-match series ties 2-2 going into Friday’s fifth one-dayer, Dravid said the recurring overrate problem was the responsibility of the entire team and something that needed immediate rectification. “The slow overrate is something we need to fix. We have to get our act together... The bowlers must hurry up and the fielders need to back them up in doing so,” Dravid said. India is seeking to repeat its limited-overs series triumph against Pakistan last year — when they prevailed 3-2 to post its maiden series triumph on Pakistani soil. India started the current series with two big wins, but Pakistan struck back to clinch the next two games. India has won six out of eight one-dayers at this venue. Last year, when India made its first full tour of Pakistan in more than 14 years, the Indians won both the Tests and one-dayers. This time, Pakistan fought back to win the Test and draw the series 1-1.

“The Pakistan top order has done well, but we have to control the way the middle order has been hurting us.” Dravid said Pakistan’s middle-order, comprising skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and Yousuf Youhana, has been scoring heavily in the current series. Pakistan’s vice captain Younis Khan said his team had won the last two games, “but there’s no such thing as momentum in ODIs. The team that does well on the day wins the match. We’re peaking at the right time, we’ve played well in past two games and need to do it again.”

‘Ganguly free to play’

KANPUR: India’s banned captain Sourav Ganguly is free to play until his petition against a six-match suspension is heard by the ICC appeals commissioner, giving selectors an opportunity to include him in the lineup for the fifth ODI. The ICC, which received the formal notice of Ganguly’s appeal late Wedn-esday, said any cricketer may continue playing matches until a decision is taken on his petition. — AP