The Hindu : Sport : Dravid blames top order

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Sunday, Dec 31, 2006
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Dravid blames top order

Durban: Captain Rahul Dravid on Saturday blamed his team's top order batsmen for the defeat in the second cricket Test against South Africa, saying they let the team down in the crucial outing.

``We are a little disappointed. We could have batted a lot better,'' Dravid said after the loss at Kingsmead.

The captain said the bowlers did their part of the job admirably. ``The bowling was good and they set up the match for us, but the batting let us down.''

Dravid singled out the devastating spell from Makhaya Ntini (five for 48) as the crucial factor in the match.

``Ntini's spell was the key on Saturday. (Ashwell) Prince also batted very well in the first innings in making a century,'' he said.

However, all was not lost for the Indians, Dravid felt. ``We have been competitive over five days and stayed with them. It's exciting to go to Cape Town with the series on the line,'' the skipper said.

A visibly relieved Graeme Smith credited the win to the intense determination of his team. ``The boys wanted it (the win) badly. They showed a lot of character and it was a top performance. I'm over the moon.''

There were a lot of negative comments after the debacle in the Johannesburg Test, Smith said. ``There was a lot of unjust criticism. People went to town but I'm proud the way we came back,'' the left-hander said.

Man of the match Makhaya Ntini, who had match figures of eight for 89, complimented the support from the other seamers.

``Andre Nel always keeps up the pressure. Now we go to Cape Town, which is one of our hunting grounds,'' he said. — PTI

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