Dhoni looks to take home positives from series

Indian skipper MS Dhoni said the team would take a lot of positives out of the Test series against South Africa despite the defeat, but stressed that they needed to improve in certain areas.

“There have been plenty of positives, batting department is looking good. But in our bowling department, we still need to work on how to bowl on dry surfaces outside the subcontinent and where you need to bend your back and hit the surface hard -- that is one area where we need to slightly improve.

“Also, from last few matches, if you have an upper hand make sure you capitalise on that, on certain occasions I felt that we were not able to capitalise on the upper hand. So, these are few areas we need to work on,” said Dhoni in the post-match press do on Monday.

Dhoni said the first session of the day changed the course of the game. “Today’s morning session…we lost too many wickets and few decisions didn’t go our away. Then couple of deliveries were good, and at the same time, few dismissals were soft.”

Dhoni was hinting at Virat Kohli’s dismissal. Umpire Steve Davies adjudged Kohli caught behind off Dale Steyn, but the replays showed that the ball deflected off the Delhiite’s shoulders. However, he stood on his stand on DRS.

“There were few teams that were big time supporters of DRS, and now they are against DRS. When it goes your way it’s good, when it doesn’t its not good. There will be a few human errors, and if there are no human errors then batsmen won’t get out and bowlers will keep bowling in one area.

“Human errors are part and parcel of this game, till they are not blunders like they are not completely off target. I don’t want a security guard who says from 9pm to 9am guard yourself, and afternoon I will be there. I want 24 hours security,” Dhoni said.

South African skipper Graeme Smith said the news about Jacques Kallis’ retirement didn’t take the team’s focus away. “We wanted to win it for him. Ultimately, we wanted to make sure that his departing is a fitting one, a tribute to him. The pitch made it a little difficult, and certainly we had to work hard, considering that we have lost so much time in the Test match. 

“India too played well on a good day one wicket -- 180 for one. The way we turned it around from that point is a huge achievement for us,” said Smith. Smith also lauded Robin Peterson, who did well with bat and ball. 

“Robbie played superbly with the bat. He certainly brings a good balance to the team, and I think the four wickets have been hugely rewarding for him. Without those four wickets, we wouldn’t have come close to winning this Test.”