Smith lauds Indian gameplan in third Test

Kanpur, Apr 13 (UNI) After being handed a eight-wicket thrashing in the third and final Test here, South African captain Graeme Smith today lauded the game plan of the Indians while admitting that his team batted poorly in the first innings which made all the difference.

In the after match press briefing, Smith said Team India, who are one of the best teams in the world, had played good cricket and deserved this win.

'' Had we scored 300 runs in the first innings and taken a lead of 150 plus runs after the second innings, then India would have no got so easy win,'' he commented.

Commenting on the pitch, he said the batsmen had all types of difficulties and claimed that the Indian bowlers had the edge over the SA bowlers because of their experience.

'' We can't blame the pitch for our loss as India has scored over 300 runs in the same condition,'' he quipped.

He also ruled out that his team played a defensive game which led to the win of the host.

'' We played our game but were beaten by a good team,'' he said.

'' We are now looking ahead on the England series after such hectic out of this sub-continent where we had won in Pakistan and Bangladesh and draw in India,'' he added.

The SA skipper said that Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are the future bowlers of his team and the performances of Hashim Amla, Neil Mckenzie and AB DeVilliers in the tour were encouraging.

'' With these type of players, South Africa will certainly emerge as the top cricket playing nation in the world,'' he predicted.

When he was asked to comment on the captaincy of M S Dhoni in this match, he said Dhoni had earned laurels by winning the Twenty20 World Cup and his success in ODI matches, but for Tests it will be seen when he is permanently retained as the captain.

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