Durban, Dec 31 (IANS) India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels the team has to be disciplined in all three areas if they want to win the third Test against South Africa starting January 2 in Cape Town.
‘Our bowling, our batting and our fielding have to be at their best if we hope to win the next Test. We don’t have much experience on these types of wickets, so it’s a big challenge for the side. We know it doesn’t always go our way and we last won a Test in South Africa in 2006 so everyone wants to perform really well,’ he said.
The Cape Town match is significant for both teams as it will be the last time the hosts will be playing a Test match under coach Corrie Van Zyl and probably be the last time India play under Gary Kirsten.
Van Zyl has made it clear that his commitment to the High Performance Programme in Pretoria comes first and will be the caretaker coach until after the World Cup in February 2011. Kirsten is also undecided on his future with the Indian team after the World Cup and is expected to move back to South Africa.
Kirsten is also tipped to become the next South African coach.
Dhoni admitted that Kirsten will be a big loss as he has instilled discipline and a work ethic.
‘He’s a good man to have around and he believes in hard work. He’ll be very difficult to replace,’ said Dhoni.
Dhoni said the win in the second Test match will boost the team’s confidence which dipped low after the innings and 25-run defeat at Centurion.
‘Whenever we lose a Test match, it has a big impact on the side psychologically. It was a bit of a worry for us to get 20 wickets but our bowlers did really well in Durban. Most of our bowlers are swing bowlers and not naturally talented on flat wickets so it makes it difficult for us to bounce the batsmen out,’ he said.
On losing 13 out of 14 tosses, Dhoni said: ‘The one thing I’m really consistent at is losing the toss. Sometimes it can be really tough. It’s always good to win the toss so you give your bowlers a chance if there’s something in the wicket.’
