Durban, Dec 29: South Africa captain Graeme Smith on Wednesday said that MS Dhoni’s men showed great character to stage a comeback in the three-match series by winning the Durban Test on the fourth day by 87 runs.
Smith predicted that the series decider at Cape Town would be a great match for Test cricket fans and that his team would try to return to their winning ways.
Excerpts from an interview.
On India’s turnaround at Durban
India played really well, it was a really good Test match for this kind of surface. It was a really good test of everyone’s skill. It was a good battle between the bat and the ball and [it was] probably on Day 2, with our batting performance, that India got the upper-hand. Even though we fought really hard we didn’t quite get across the line.
On being bowled out for a paltry 131
I think it is the first time in a really long time that our batters have let us down. We [now] go to Cape Town and [will try and] work hard before that Test match. It’s obviously become a very important Test match in this series.
On what he told his teammates while chasing in the fourth innings
Yeah, I mean we have been in this situation a few times in the last few years and we have managed to go across the line. It is disappointing that we couldn’t finish it today. I think it is just about giving your best and staying with the process and sticking to your game-plans. India created a lot of pressure on us this morning and that did its bit […]. Credit to MS [Dhoni] and his team for bouncing back after the first Test. That’s why they are the No.1 team in the world, you know.
On the series decider at Cape Town
Yeah, the Test match at Newlands is always an incredible Test match to play. It is always a great atmosphere at this time of the year, the crowds are always great, you know. Now that it is set-up 1-1, the series is going to be big. We need to reassess where we went wrong in the last four days and see how we can bounce back now and hope it would be better in Cape Town.
