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Give players credit: Dhoni

First innings deficit the turning point: Smith

Agencies, Kanpur
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni yesterday attributed the collective performance" of his team for their victory in the third and final Test against South Africa and said it would be unfair to devalue the players effort just because the track was helpful to the hosts.
• It is a credit to the players. Yes, the track was helpful but credit should go to the players for performing in such a way in difficult conditions. This win was very important for us," Dhoni said after India levelled the series 1-1 with a comfortable eight-wicket victory within three days.
Dhoni said he did not expect the match to be over in the third day itself but it was made possible because his bowlers "bowled in the right areas" and kept pressure on the South African batsmen. "Our bowlers really bowled well today. They bowled in the right areas and created a lot of pressure on the batsmen," he said.
Dhoni was not too critical of the under-prepared Green Park track and said every place had its own type of wickets.
"When you go to Australia you have bouncy tracks, in England you have tracks which help swing bowling. When you come to India, you should expect such kind of tracks. Every place has its own speciality," he said.
"It looked likea fourth day track. Usually such tracks change quickly and we knew it was a matter of time before it deteriorated rapidly," he said.
Dhoni lavished praise on the last-wicket pair of Shanthakumaran Sreesanth and Ishant Sharma for giving the team a crucial 60-run lead in the first innings.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith said India s first innings lead turned the Test in favour of the
hosts on a track where the "margin oferror is too small ”.
"I think that 60-run lead in the first innings was the turning point. It was really crucial and it put us under pressure. Full credit to the Indians as they really bowled and utilised the conditions better," Smith said after the match.
"It is a track where the margin of error is too small. There were some little things which we could have done better. Once India got that lead, it was difficult to come back, the last wicket pair really frustrated us", he said.
Smith said a target of 150 or so would have given his team a chance but they could not exert much pressure for a target of 62.
"I think a target of 150 would have been challenging as the wicket was deteriorating quickly. But a target of just 62 gave them the freedom to play their shots as they knew it was not a big score. In the end, 1 think that first innings lead was crucial." Smith paid tribute to India's bowlers. South Africa managed just 121 in their second innings, setting India a modest 62-run target to square the series. The hosts finished at 64-2.
"We let ourselves down slightly. Little things here and there and we could have done better,” said Smith.
Despite that disappointment he was full of praise for the Indian attack on what was a difficult wicket.
"India bowled superbly. It is not easy to score quickly when one delivery is going through the top and another is keeping low. They kept us under pressure and made us work for our runs," Smith said.
The South African captain said he was satisfied with his team's recent performances in the sub continent.
"It has been a terrific season. We had three series and I don't think many people gave us any chance. We won in Pakistan (in 2007), Bangladesh (this year) and came up against a very good Indian team," said Smith.
"Playing at home with the series 1-1, they probably won't be very happy. We would obviously have loved to win the series as we have played some terrific cricket."
Dhoni lauded man-of-the-match Sourav Ganguly for scoring a gutsy 87 in the first innings as India posted a handy 325.
"It was crucial the way Sourav batted in the first innings. Gn a track like this where any ball can kick and bounce, you have to be positive and keep scoring," said Dhoni, who led the team in the absence of unfit Anil Kumble.