DURBAN, Dec. 29: India’s 87-run series-levelling triumph in the second Test has given Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men an opportunity to pull off a Test series triumph when the third Test begins in Cape Town on Sunday. But Dhoni insisted on looking beyond the series.
“We have to do well everywhere, so it’s important that we keep on winning no matter the conditions. It’s not just win here or in another one there. Its part of a process,” Dhoni said after the win on Wednesday.
He said the team had shown they can do well anywhere in the world. “More often than not you are one-down in a series. I said in the first press conference that we don’t start well. We’re more used to batting under pressure,” he said.
“We started this process around September 2008 and two years hence we’re in a position where we can say we have done well in most places,” he added.
Dhoni said the dismissal of Jacques Kallis’ was the key in a game which had fortunes swinging everyday.
“Most of their batsmen have done well in the last few series. What was important for us was to put the line-up under pressure. This meant that we had to take early wickets and keep on taking wickets. The timing of getting Kallis, and AB (de Villiers) was important,” he said.
With this win, Dhoni equalled Mohammad Azharuddin’s winning record as captain and said the results show that he has a good side under him. “What it means is that we’ve played consistent cricket over a period of time. Of course it’s a proud moment. As a team whether it’s batting, bowling or fielding we’ve done consistently well. We’ve taken some good catches despite not being a brilliant ground fielding side. It feels really good that we’ve done well together,” he said.
India won the match despite big guns such as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid failing to score and Dhoni said it goes to show the depth in the side.