'We had a good day, bowled really well' - Dravid

Calling it a hard grind, Rahul Dravid looked back with some satisfaction on an opening day where India picked up eight wickets to move into a promising position on an atypical Durban pitch. At one stage, South Africa were sitting more than a little pretty at 222 for 4, but Sreesanth's express delivery to Mark Boucher, and a googly special from Anil Kumble towards the end tilted the balance firmly in India's favour.

"We had a good day, bowled really well," said Dravid. "To end up where we did was a great effort by all the boys." He admitted that the nature of the pitch had been a surprise, with a far more pacy surface having been prepared for the one-day game that India lost so miserably last month. "It's a bit different from Kingsmead wickets that I've played on earlier, which had a lot more pace and bounce," he said. "It's got a bit of bounce, this one, but not the pace. It might quicken up as the game goes on and the sun beats down on it."

India had South Africa reeling at 28 for 3 at one stage, but Dravid said that he wasn't too disappointed with what followed. "They've got some quality players out there," he said. "They're an international side and they'll get some partnerships going. I thought the boys stuck to the task really well. Even in that afternoon session where we got only one wicket, we worked really hard and created a couple of chances. Who knows what might have happened if we'd held on? In spite of that, on a hot day in tough conditions, we stuck at it. We deserved the wickets at the end just for the effort that we put in."

He was full of praise for all his bowlers, with Zaheer Khan's new-ball spell coming in for special mention. "He bowled beautifully in the morning, swung the ball and troubled all their batsmen," said Dravid. "It set the game up for us, that opening spell from Zak and Sreesanth." The third member of the pace attack, VRV Singh, had a mixed day, bowling at searing pace in the afternoon only to see Ashwell Prince dropped off his bowling at slip. The wicket of Shaun Pollock late in the day was some consolation.

"VRV bowled without a lot of luck," said Dravid. "He could easily have ended up with three or four wickets today. If he keeps bowling like this, and putting in the effort, there'll be days when he won't bowl as well and get more wickets."

Dravid's finger injury forced him out of the slip cordon, and a lingering soreness has meant that he positioned himself at mid-off, close to the bowling action. When asked if it allowed him to keep an eye on the likes of Sreesanth, whose exuberance earned him a fine in the previous Test, Dravid said: "He's a young kid playing only his seventh Test match. You must remember that. He's doing a fantastic job, bowling good areas with a lot of discipline.

"His spell in the afternoon to get Boucher's wicket was really special. It was the end of a long day, and he'd probably bowled 15 overs by then. And that was the catalyst for us to pick up two more wickets at the end."

Like VRV Singh, Herschelle Gibbs too had an up-and-down day. Having batted quite majestically at times for his 63, he threw it away with a shot that might have driven a coach like Ray Jennings to violence. But having walked out with his place in the side very much on the line, Gibbs said: "I'm not relieved as much as I'm disappointed that I never pushed on to get a hundred. But yes, some runs are better than no runs."

He said that the pitch had been a "tricky" one, but expected it to get better on days two and three, cheery news for the Indian batsmen who will front up to the new ball at some point on Wednesday morning. "We always knew it will be on the slower side on day one and normally, day two and day three are good for batting," said Gibbs. "We were a bit unlucky that we lost our way a little bit towards the end. If we can squeeze in 40 runs tomorrow, we should be okay."

Prince finished the day unbeaten on 98, and his effort, on the back of 97 at the Wanderers, and Gibbs was appreciative in his assessment of a man who has gone from the fringes to potential captaincy material in the space of 18 months. "He was very tight, very sound. That's how you play Test cricket. He stayed tight, defended well and hit the ball when it was there to hit."

Gibbs and most of his team-mates might have prepared to face Munaf Patel on the eve of the game, but the Indian team management decided not to take a risk on the morning of the game. "He wasn't considered because we weren't 100 percent certain that he'd last the course of a Test match," said Dravid. "He bowled eight overs in that match [against a Kwazulu-Natal Invitation XI] the other day, and was bowling about six or seven overs in practice, but it's totally different intensity. He was probably two or three days away from what would be ideal for a Test match. "It's too risky with young fast bowlers when they're not fully fit. We're playing just four bowlers, so it was a chance we could not take. Not only for us, but for him as well, his career and his development as a player. It would have been unfair for us to push him at this stage."

The news was better on Sachin Tendulkar, after he went off the field in the afternoon following a spilt chance at first slip. "It's just bruised, the right thumb," said Dravid. "He'll bat."

Injuries played a part in South Africa's team selection too, with Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis both missing out. Morne Morkel made his debut in place of Steyn, and Andrew Hall came in for the fifth-bowler role that Kallis usually performs. For Dravid, it made little difference. "Jacques's more experienced, but Andrew Hall's also done well," he said. "We won't take any one of them lightly.

"The key for us will be to bat for long periods of time. In these hot conditions, if we can keep their bowlers out there in the sun for a long time, then that will make a difference. We had Anil [Kumble] who bowled 20 fantastic overs for us, blocked up one end. It allowed me to rotate the other bowlers from the other end. We'll have to bat well, and show the fight we did in the last Test match."

Kumble bowled the most overs in the day, and South Africa's decision to ignore spin may yet come back to haunt them. Paul Harris was the main option, but Dravid wasn't about to be drawn into a debate on the opposition team-sheet. "To be honest, I've not seen their spinner, and don't know what he does," he said. "Some of the boys who've played him in county cricket said he bowls pretty okay. But it's hard for me to comment on their side, and not fair either."