The Hindu : Sport : ‘We’ve played some terrific cricket ’

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Monday, Apr 14, 2008
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‘We’ve played some terrific cricket ’

Kanpur: South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith said the insufficient first-innings total and India’s lead were responsible for his side’s eight-wicket loss in the Kanpur Test. “When you are playing on such a wicket, the margin for error is very small. We were 30 runs short in the first innings, and lost our way with our batting.

“Also, India getting a lead like that made the difference. Those were the two big swinging points in the match.”

The captain said that a target of over 150 would’ve been tough for India. “Once India got the lead, the wicket deteriorated quite a lot. The last wicket partnership was pretty frustrating. The lead probably was crucial. You also have to give credit to Sourav. He played a terrific innings under the circumstances, and scored quickly too.”

Smith refused to blame anyone for the loss.

Summing up South Africa’s performances recently in the sub-continent, Smith said: “It has been a terrific season. I don’t think many people gave us any chance to do well in the sub-continent. We won in Pakistan, won in Bangladesh, and came up against a very good Indian team here. Playing at home with the series 1-1, they probably will not be very happy. From our point of view, we would obviously have loved to have won the series, but we have played some terrific cricket this season. We won eight out of 12 Tests and lost two.” — Sports Reporter

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