MAHENDRA Singh Dhoni hailed the upward curve that Indian cricket continues to follow after they squared their three-match Test series at 1-1 with an 87-run victory over South Africa at Kingsmead. The world number one side needed only 45.3 overs on day four to claim the remaining seven wickets – amongst them the highly valuable ones of Jacques Kallis (17) and AB de Villiers (33), who both departed early.
Zaheer Khan claimed three of the wickets that fell, while there was one each for Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh and Ishant Sharma.
“What this means is that we have a good side – we’ve played consistent cricket over a period of time,” said Dhoni. “This process started in September 2008 and in the next two years we are in a position where we can say that in most of the places we have done well. So it’s a proud moment, 2010 has been good for us.”
Asked what the key was to victory, he continued: “A bit of worry for us was to get 20 wickets, but the bowlers did really well over here.
“Of course there was something for the bowlers and a bit of bounce for the spinners, so I think the bowling department did really well.”
Bowlers aside, the one man that stood out amongst the batsmen was man-of-the-match VVS Laxman, who made 38 and 96, two of the top three scores in the game, with Ashwell Prince 39 not out making the other one.
Dhoni added: “It was a very special innings. You always count on Laxman. It was one of those wickets where it’s very difficult to convince yourself that you are settling down and you are set because one odd ball will do something.
“But it was special because at the end of the day it was those 90-odd runs that really mattered.”
South Africa skipper Graeme Smith was predictably disappointed, saying: “I think we probably lost the Test match on day two. I don’t think it was a 131-wicket (South Africa’s first-innings score) and if we’d managed to draw level with India then it would have made our lives a lot easier in the fourth innings.
“We had one or two unlucky decisions, but I thought India bowled well. I don’t think we played terribly in the Test, but that 131 wasn’t good enough.”