We weren’t good enough: Smith

Monday April 14, 01:01 AM

Kanpur, April 13: "Just too good," was South African skipper Graeme Smith’s reply when asked about the series-levelling eight-wicket defeat at India’s hands in Kanpur on Sunday. "We didn’t expect the match to last five days, but it’s a very good Indian team and they know the conditions very well."

Smith said the Indians were "clinical" in their performance and attributed his team’s loss to the first innings deficit of 60 runs. "I think India were clinical throughout and they deserved their victory. When you play on wicket like this margins are very small. We set out to get 300 in the first innings and lost our way towards the back end. India then got such a lead in the first innings. They were the two turning points," he said after the match.

The 27-year-old opener had a few harsh words for his bowlers, but refused to criticise the team as a whole, instead praising them for the way they had competed recently in the sub-continent, the draw with India coming after a 2-0 win in Bangladesh and a series victory over Pakistan.

" We weren’t as good with the ball, too anxious to bowl out India. They proved that if you get the ball in the right areas you could make things happen. There are small things we could have done a bit better, but we’ve had terrific season. We won in Pakistan and Bangladesh and came up with a draw against a very good Indian team."

"Out of the 12 played, we won eight out and lost two, which is great."

Smith conceded that visitors were mostly playing catch up. "Once India got the lead it was always difficult for us to come back into the match. The last wicket partnership was frustrating and had we posted a target between 120-150, it would have given us a chance to have a go at India."

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