Conditions made it very tough - Smith
Graeme Smith walked into the press conference with a rueful smile, and preferred to focus on the vagaries of the pitch rather than a vapid batting display
Dileep Premachandran at Bangalore
19-Nov-2005
Graeme Smith walked into the press conference with a rueful smile, and preferred to focus on the vagaries of the pitch rather than a vapid batting display. Praising the efforts of Johan Botha, his offspinner, Smith was confident that his team would bounce back in Chennai to overcome the disappointment of seeing their unbeaten run end at 20 matches.
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On how he saw the defeat
We lost a few wickets up front, and I think the toss played a much bigger role than we had expected. The pitch was dry, the ball was holding, and it was difficult to hit through the line. It was very helpful to their spinners, and I thought it was a gutsy effort to get to 170. When we bowled, the ball went soft after six or seven overs, and we lost that sting. It was just a disappointing day.
On why Robin Peterson wasn't considered
We felt we could get some spin from Justin Ontong, and also they have quite a few lefties in the middle order. I don't think they would have got much more than 200 if they had batted first, and batting second I would have backed us to win.
On failing to equal Australia's 21-match unbeaten streak
It's disappointing to get so close. But we've played very well. This team's come a long way, and I'm sure everyone associated with it will hold that run close to them for a while. But now we have to go to Chennai and focus on winning the series.
On Andre Nel and whether there was much sledging going on
I don't think there was any sledging. My bowlers came out with good body language, and they bowled with intensity and aggression. We're a team that means business.
On whether he felt the toss had decided the result
Having lost, it will look like we're making excuses. We have to pick ourselves up and look ahead to Chennai. The dew factor will make batting second easier. The spin we could extract in the evening, with a wet ball, was minimal.
On Johan Botha
Bowling with a wet ball in these conditions, I don't think there can be any greater experience for him. I wanted to give my spinners a good bowl because they may have a big part to play in the rest of the series.
On whether he feared similar pitches for the remaining games
If we get the same type of pitches, we'll be better prepared, and hopefully, we'll handle it better. It might just backfire on them too.
On how he felt a team could win batting first in such conditions
You need to put a decent total on the board and create some pressure. I think 215 would have been a competitive score here, but we lost too many early wickets and couldn't put any pressure on their spinners.
On whether Sehwag's return to form was worrying
He's a very good player, and was bound to come good at some stage. But we've got some very good game-plans for him, and hopefully they will work at Chennai.
Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo